Partners
by Empty Pen09
Summary: Hailey Upton is settling into a new job, a new home, and a nice life, with her partner Jay Halstead, but Jay's old lover Erin Lindsay moves back to Chicago intent on making nice with the happy couple. Kim Burgess finally has the perfect partnership with newly returned Kenny Rixton, too bad her personal life is such a mess. (An Old Flame: continuation)
1. Prologue

The woman from the FBI was staring at her, Sergeant Hailey Upton was sure of that. She was used to being stared at. She'd been getting stared at for years, so that feeling of self consciousness wasn't unfamiliar. She supposed this was her own fault, she tended to be a bitch sometimes, especially with other women. This FBI woman wasn't anyone she'd met before so there couldn't be any bad blood between them. Hailey would've remembered meeting someone like her, she was much too attractive to forget. Tall, statuesque, and beautiful, with shoulder length blonde hair and hypnotic blue eyes. She should have been on the cover of FBI magazine, or on a TV show about FBI agents, not actually working at the FBI. Women who looked like her didn't typically have dangerous jobs.

Anyway, she was staring, typically Hailey would've said something to her, something bitchy, but she was trying to be a kinder, gentler Hailey Upton. Being a boss meant making friends. At the very least not making enemies. She let the woman stare and tried her best to be cool.

"Boss, the other team is back." Detective Kenny Rixton said, not bothering to look up from his phone.

Hailey hadn't been sure about Rixton at first. There were rumors floating around the department about him possibly being a rat. A few years ago, his entire team had been taken down for being dirty, but Rixton walked away clean. That was in and of itself suspicious, but not actual proof of anything. Hailey had been weary at first, but the team trusted him, so she decided to trust him too. He had turned out to be a good cop, and a great addition to her team.

Her team, it had been nearly six months and she almost still didn't believe she was in charge. When she and Jay took the sergeant's exam, she expected their partnership to be over. Voight had all but assured them they were both getting promoted, Deputy Chief Noel James, their boss and 'friend upstairs', would see to that. At the time, Voight was looking to retire, or to finally get off the street in hopes of seeing his young granddaughter grow up and was recommending Jay to be his replacement. Hailey was hoping to be assigned a patrol unit in a good quiet district. Being assigned to Jay's district would be ideal, but that was expecting too much. The plan was to be competent and do the job. Show and prove. Show you're capable of doing the job well, then prove it by being smart and competent. After a few years of show and prove she was planning on taking the Lieutenant's exam.

Things had gone a different way though. Usually a rookie sergeant got assigned a patrol unit and spent most of their time behind a desk, Trudy Platt style. Voight recommending Jay to lead a unit was almost unheard of, but when it happened nobody blinked. Voight was Voight, and everybody liked Jay. What nobody anticipated was her being given the same treatment. Everyone knew her, but she wasn't as well liked as Jay Halstead. But Intelligence had expanded to two teams, Jay was given one team, her the other.

After their promotions the department exploded with gossip and rumors about the two of them. This seemed to happen every few months on a regular basis. Gossip about her and Jay was par for the course these days. It started small enough a few years back, they showed up to a crime scene dressed up for a date, causing tongues to go wagging. That eventually died down, but it happened again when they moved in together. After that everyone expected them to finally be split up, but it hadn't happened. They moved into a spacious condo in a brick brownstone in Bucktown and the bosses didn't make a peep. The next time it happened was when she got shot and Jay tore the city up bringing the shooter down. It wasn't even a serious or life-threatening shooting, but Jay didn't care, he turned into a complete madman. When the shooter was handled, he took a short leave to look after her, and more gossip happened.

With her laid up and Jay on leave looking after her, Rixton had taken control of both teams and had done a pretty good job of keeping things together. So good that Jay often called him Intelligence's second in command. Whenever one of them needed time off, Kenny, the only other cop in the unit with command experience from his time leading a Gang task force, was called up to take over. Usually the bosses would bring in an outside boss to run things, but Intelligence didn't follow that rule. This unique situation only served to cause more gossip about her and Jay being given special treatment.

Hailey understood it. It was the sort of thing that got people talking. They were their own walking, talking, reality show. It seemed like every cop in the city knew them sometimes, and Hailey often had to remind herself that people stared, often trying to put a face to the many, many, stories they'd heard over the years. If the department had celebrities, she and Jay would surely be two of them.

"Thanks Kenny. Tell them we got a visitor. FBI. They're working some undercover drug operation she wants to read us in on. Says we'd understand."

Rixton made a face letting her know he didn't think much of the idea. He didn't care much for the FBI, rumor had it, it was feds who brought his old team down. She liked Rixton, he was a smart cop, and surprisingly thought a lot like her. When the unit was splitting up Jay had taken Ruzek and Atwater in the team draft, leaving her with Burgess and Rixton. That worried her at first, but not anymore. Kenny and Kim were a well-oiled machine. They knew the other inside and out.

Unlike her and Jay, Kenny and Kim never fought and rarely even had to talk to each other. They were practically reading each other's minds these days. Kim Burgess was his partner and confidant, she never let anything slip by him and was fully invested in him being at his absolute best. In return he was loyal to her to a fault, he'd take any bullet for her, make any deal, kick down any door. They were good cops alone, but Hailey realized quickly they were great cops together. They were often lost without the other. The rest of her team were newbies, officers picked up straight out of the academy like Ruzek, proven patrol officers given a chance like Kim and Kevin, or experienced guys like Olinsky and Dawson. Her team was solid, as was Jay's.

"She says its important," Hailey added with a shrug. "She keeps staring at me, its actually starting to freak me out."

Rixton smirked. "Maybe she thinks you're cute. If you were gonna switch teams she's the sort of woman you do it for. She's gorgeous."

Hailey rolled her eyes. "I'm not a vegetarian, but thanks."

Rixton laughed and turned on his heels. "I'll go get the other team up here." In the distance the FBI agent kept staring.

* * *

Jay sat down beside her and rested a hand on her thigh. He often did that, and even though it was a tad unprofessional she couldn't stop him. Wouldn't. She liked his touch, it reminded her that he loved her, desired her, needed her. She slipped her own hand on top of it, ignoring how it made the others feel. She'd long stopped caring about that sort of thing. For some reason the department made certain concessions when it came to her and Jay, and they'd long since decided to take full advantage. She looked up at the blonde agent and gave the woman her full attention.

The woman stood at the front of the room like a college professor explaining a class syllabus. She looked around the room, inspecting faces with suspicion, then looked back to Hailey, then Jay.

"For six months the FBI has been working on an operation into a nationwide prescription drug network. Opioids mostly. We're bringing it to a close, and that's happening in the city, today. We're gonna need some backup rounding up the suspects." She looked around the room for questions. Rixton didn't disappoint.

"I'm sorry, Agent?" he asked.

"Sanderson. Mandy Sanderson."

Beside Rixton, Kim Burgess' ears perked. Rixton didn't catch it but Hailey knew the name meant something to her.

"You said we'd be interested in this. Why exactly? You need backup okay, but why US? What's our interest in this again?"

Sanderson smirked. "My partner is currently undercover working the operation and thought it would be fun to work with you guys again."

Ruzek seemed intrigued. "Who's your partner?"

Kim leaned back in her seat. "Erin Lindsay," she looked at the FBI agent for acknowledgement and received a smile. "You're Erin's partner Mandy, from New York."

Rixton's eyes widened. "Get the fuck out of here. Erin Lindsay." He looked at Kim knowingly, then back at Mandy. "That makes you the ex-model. The one married to the quarterback." Rixton was off his feet. "You're Kent Bell's wife."

Ruzek covered his mouth. "Holy shit. Your husband is the new quarterback for the Chicago Bears."

Hailey didn't follow much football, but everyone knew Kent Bell. He was the sort of guy on cereal boxes with his own line of shoes. The Chicago Bears had recently picked him up as a free agent. Even near the end of his career he was far and away the best quarterback the city had ever had. He'd only come for the money, the team had no real chance of winning the Superbowl, but Bell already had three Superbowl rings. He was looking to cash out big.

Sanderson took it all in stride, she was clearly used to this sort of thing. "That's all true. Erin thought it would be fun to work together again. We're working out of the Chicago office now. My husband moved us to town for his work, so I transferred to the Chicago office. Erin is from here and always wanted to come back eventually, so she tagged along. You'll be seeing much more of us."

Hailey steeled her nerves and beside her Jay gave her thigh a squeeze. It had been forever since she thought about Erin Lindsay. Erin wasn't only Jay's ex-partner, but also his ex-girlfriend, and the woman he wanted to marry. Upon learning he was planning to propose to her before she skipped town and broke his heart, she came back to Chicago to win him back. It hadn't worked but it had been a huge headache for both her and Jay. Erin had finally given up, went back to New York and left them in peace. Still she texted Jay often, called regularly, and even wrote the occasional letter. Hailey knew it was some sort of game, it had to be, but given her being so far away in New York, and considering Erin had been on her best behavior, she'd stopped paying attention to her. Now that Erin was home, Hailey knew that strategy was now foolish.

The boys, even Jay, seemed excited about the football stuff but Hailey's mind switched immediately into boss mode.

"So, she's safe? She's under and this takedown is happening, what's her level of danger once arrests start happening?" Hailey could tell half the room almost didn't believe the question was coming from her. Everyone, even the newbies, knew there was bad blood between her and Erin, but Hailey always preached putting your personal shit aside to get the job done.

The blonde clearly wasn't expecting the question either, at least not from Hailey. "She's solid, and this crew uses minimal violence. But were not taking any chances. We're gonna need a team to go snatch her up ASAP. Once word of the arrests starts spreading, she'll be in danger. She knows all the players, and her being gone keeps lots of people out of jail, and that's without them even knowing she's FBI. She'll be a possible target for a desperate criminal just from the nature of her position in the organization, so we want her taken first. She doesn't even know it's happening so the plan is to take her like a con, keeping her cover intact on the street until we have everyone in custody."

Rixton looked at Kim but didn't bother speaking. It didn't seem to matter, her eyes squinted, sharpening slightly and causing him to make a disapproving face in response. She finally rolled her eyes, and he smirked.

"We'll go get her," he finally said. Hailey was intrigued. Rixton and Kim had had a full conversation without speaking one word to each other. They were clicking like crazy.

The FBI woman, Sanderson nodded. "Great, a few familiar faces will make it easier. Especially you two, her fake rap sheet has your names all over it."

* * *

Jay Halstead liked Kenny Rixton. He was a good cop, smart, loyal and trustworthy. When they were choosing teams, he had gone for Adam and Kevin first, two good young detectives who were 100% loyal, proven commodities.

Rixton on the other hand, was an unknown. Jay worked with him briefly years ago, but Kenny had left Intelligence to head a gang unit. Jay heard his name occasionally afterwards but hadn't seen or talked to the guy in years. When Hailey drafted him and Kim to her team, Jay had wondered if she were making a good choice. That worry turned out to be a mistake. Kenny was a great choice and was a solid number two for Hailey. In fact, these days, he was both of their second in command. When one, or both, were away Kenny was always in charge. Even now in the middle of an operation, the guy was schooling one of Hailey's rookies. Jay didn't interfere. He didn't need to.

"Know your place man, that's all I'm saying," Rixton said to officer Davis. Pete Davis was a skinny kid with sunken brown eyes and dirty blonde hair, fresh out of the academy. Like a young Adam Ruzek, he didn't quite understand that by skipping patrol he had hit the cop jackpot. That luck had made him bold, or stupid, as some of the others called him. He always had questions, nosy questions. The kid hadn't learned to shut up and listen.

"I thought they were friends," Davis said ignoring the advice. Davis didn't have Ruzek' s natural charm and good looks, so he didn't get away with nearly as much. Ruzek had a certain charm to him that made people like him. Davis on the other hand was just annoying.

"It's none of your business, don't get in the middle of it. What's our rule about that kind of thing?" Rixton was a firm believer in Hailey's practice of minding your own business.

Davis frowned. "Its not my place to interfere in a partner beef. A unit beef is always my business. A personal beef is never my business."

Rixton nodded. "Is Erin Lindsay in the unit?"

Davis shook his head with defeat. "No."

"Then mind your own business. Kim and Erin go back a decade. You questioning Kim about this is out of line. If she wants to talk, she's got me. I'm her partner and I don't think she needs to talk. She definitely doesn't need you in her ear asking her questions about this, whatever it is."

Jay had noticed the hesitation in Kim's decision to go grab Erin from undercover, he was sure everyone had. He hadn't been sure, but he sensed Kim hadn't wanted to do it. Last he heard the two women were tight. But that was technically years ago, anything could have happened in a few years.

Davis looked dejected and Jay almost laughed. The kid was surely hoping to crack the big case and play hero. Rixton was right though. This wasn't his business. Still, Jay decided to offer some careful encouragement.

"Davis. If you see someone going off the rails, it's okay to try and help. But this ain't that. Kim and Erin are friends, they'll work their shit out. If you see a problem getting in the way of the job, you talk to Kenny. If he thinks its necessary, he'll talk to Kim himself. He's her partner, it's his job to know what's going on with her. If you're still worried bring it to me or Hailey. But as of right now, you're just being nosy. Am I curious what their beef is? Of course. Is it any of my damn business? Not at all." Jay gave the kid's shoulder a pat and walked off. In the distance he heard Kenny tell Davis to go prep for the arrests.

Jay suspected Kenny Rixton knew exactly what Kim and Erin were beefing about. He always knew what Kim had going on. The two partners were close, extremely close. They had dinner together most nights, hung out together on the weekends, they even took vacations with their boyfriends and girlfriends together. It didn't matter how much time they spent together they never seemed to get sick of being together. They were oddly close Hailey often said. She also said they'd make a great couple, but Jay wasn't sure about that. They seemed more siblings than lovers, and he sensed zero physical attraction between them, but what did he know?

Burgess had turned out to be a good detective. Jay always knew she was tough and resilient, but over the past few years she'd proven herself smart as well. With Kenny by her side she'd grown as a cop, but also hardened a lot as a person. Gone was the sweet supportive forgiving friend from the old days. These days she was loyal to those who were loyal to her, but if you crossed her, she severed all serious ties. Whatever had happened with Erin must have been serious Jay realized.

If Jay had to guess Erin had done something to piss Kim off. Erin had grown a lot these past few years. A ton of therapy had made her more open and self-aware, and less self-destructive in her personal relationships. However, underneath it all she was still Erin. She kept in contact with Jay, offering advice and encouragement when he needed it, and had become a close friend and confidant. Hailey kept her distance but so far Erin had proven to be honest and trustworthy. Jay wasn't sure when it happened, but she'd become one of his best friends. Still, if he had to guess, it was HER who'd caused the problem between the two old friends. Lately Erin had taken to being annoyingly honest, which made her working undercover hilarious.

Hailey looked up at him as he entered their office. The unit's design wasn't set up for dual bosses, but the office was large enough to accommodate them both. It was a tight fit with two desks but living together made sharing a small space easier.

"Davis is a bit nosy huh," Jay said. It was more of a statement than a comment.

Hailey smiled, her eyes shifting back to a stack of papers on her desk. She was behind on her paperwork, as usual.

"He's convinced he's Sherlock Holmes. He drives McNeal crazy. He's a good kid, just eager to prove himself. McNeal thinks he should spend a few weeks in patrol, so he'll learn firsthand how lucky he is. He's sure it'll teach him some humility."

Jay laughed. "Voight and Olinsky did the same thing to Adam back in the day. It didn't take a week though, a day or two tops I think."

"I'm thinking about it. That patrol officer Gates, she's good. I may bring her up for a while." Hailey didn't typically switch things up, so if she were thinking about it NOW, Davis must be a real pain for McNeal.

Jay nodded. "I can see that." He walked over to his desk and sat down. "Kim and Erin have some sort of beef I guess."

Hailey looked up with excited interest. "Right. Who saw THAT coming?" She shook her head. "I saw Kim and Kenny arguing about being the ones to pick her up."

Jay had missed that. "Really. I didn't see them fighting." As close as Kim and Kenny were, he had never seen them fight. Not ever.

Hailey waved that off. "They don't fight like normal people. They didn't even say anything. It was all eye gazes and head movements. She didn't want to do it, but he talked her into it."

Jay had missed that. He'd seen Kenny look at her and he saw Kim roll her eyes and begrudgingly agree, but he wouldn't have counted that as a fight.

He looked out into the squad, Kim had reappeared and was showing Kenny something on her phone. Whatever it was seemed to upset him. Kim shoved the phone into her pocket then gave Kenny's chest a poke. He nodded sheepishly, looking up at her with defeat in his eyes. Abruptly she gave him a hug, she held it for a few seconds then pulled away and sat down beside him.

"What's that about you think?" Jay asked Hailey. He looked in her direction, but she had been staring at the mound of papers on her desk. She'd missed the exchange.

"What," she asked without looking up.

"Burgess and Rixton. Something's up with them."

Hailey looked out into the squad. They were both sitting on the edge of Rixton's desk with their arms crossed on their chests. They didn't look angry at one another, just upset.

"Not sure. But they'll be fine. We don't need to worry about those two," she assured him. He knew she was right, but he knew what he saw. Something was up.

* * *

Kim Burgess shoved the skinny guy with the stupid purple hair roughly to the cheap carpet of the even cheaper drab studio apartment. Beside her Kenny grabbed Erin roughly by the arm and shoved her into a dirty white wall.

"Amanda Johnson, there you are. We've been looking all over Chicago for you. We heard you were back in town. Welcome home."

Erin looked at Kenny awkwardly over her shoulder. Her undercover legend was that of Amanda Johnson, drug dealer and mule. She was currently an ex-con wanted for violating parole. According to her file, Kenny and Kim had been the cops who'd locked her up. When Kim read that she laughed.

"Hey Rixton, long time no see. Officer Burrows," she said to Kim, deliberately getting the name wrong.

"Detective Burgess," Kim corrected her.

Kenny didn't skip a beat. "You have two open warrants and a parole violation. So, you get to spend some more time down in Decatur. They might even give you your old cell."

"Come on man, I told you guys five years ago those weren't my pills," Erin argued. According to Erin's file she claimed the arrest was unjust, a frame job. It was something a real con would allege for a similar crime.

"And I told you five years ago I didn't give a shit," Kim said dismissively. Kim and Kenny had decided that Erin was probably telling the truth, but that they didn't actually care. An arrest was an arrest. Kenny even suggested that the two of them should in fact be the one's who set her up. Reasons undetermined. Kim readily agreed. They often worked these details out beforehand, not only was it fun, it sometimes actually came in handy.

The kid with the purple hair laughed and Kim put a knee in his back and told him to shut up. Across the room Erin faked an annoyed sigh.

"Well if you're sending me back to Decatur Rixton, the least thing you can do is take me to that back room and throw a girl a little dick. Or big dick if I remember correctly."

"Will you shut up about that," Kenny said quickly. Kim had suggested that Kenny had sex with Amanda once or twice. If he was dirty, why not be completely dirty. Hearing Erin suggest that very thing was a happy coincidence.

"I'll take you back there," the kid with the purple hair said quickly. Kim almost laughed.

"Oh, COME ON, I have like 4 years left on that sentence. Not to mention new stuff. If I knew I was going back inside today I would have at least gotten laid first. Do a girl a solid Rixton. It's not like it's our first time." Erin looked at Kim and winked. Erin an experienced undercover was hip to the game. But also, like Erin, she flew by the seat of her pants and threw a wrench in the plan. "You can even bring Burrows if you want. Its not our first time either. And I'll spend the next four years eating sushi anyway."

"Burgess. And in your dreams Johnson," Kim said firmly.

"Don't act like you forgot Indianapolis Kim. Me, YOU, that guy with the tattoos."

"Shut up about that," Kim said forcing herself not to laugh. There was no use denying it anymore. It was a ridiculous lie, but Kim knew with things like this the more ridiculous the better.

"I'll do it, I swear," the kid with the purple hair said again. This time more firmly. "I'll bang you really good. I swear."

Erin ignored him. "Seriously. Rixton. I have a huge stash of product at my place in Hyde Park. It's mine, doesn't belong to anyone, nobody will be looking for it. If you take me there and throw me a hump, it's yours. You and Kim can have it all man. I'm going inside, I won't be needing it. Four years is a long time to go without dick. Send me off in style."

Kenny hesitated, selling the lie by appearing to think it over. Finally, he decided on agreeing. "What the hell. How about it Burgess?"

Kim shrugged. "Fine by ME. We can have some fun with Amanda for old times sake. One more for the road, right?"

"Hey, can I come? I got a stash," the kid said squirming beneath her.

Kim did laugh this time. "Sorry buddy. I don't swing your way." She looked at Kenny. "Let's call a radio car to take this joker in. Then we can head over to Hyde Park." Beneath her the kid groaned in disappointment.

"Yeah, now we're talking," Erin said sounding excited. Kim couldn't help but acknowledge how good of an actress she was. "Throw a girl some dick Rixton. I'm clean too, cleaner than your grandma's snatch. No STDs."

"One more word about my grandma's snatch and no deal," Kenny said. Kim could see the very mention of his grandmother's vagina had turned his stomach.

"Hey, not another word about grandma," Erin said. "But bring her too if you want. Just not Stevie here. He's been trying to fuck me for six months, but he cheated me out of two grand on our first deal. You can only screw me one way. You either get the sex or the money. Never both."

Kim snickered. "What are you talking about Amanda, you just offered me and Rixton both sex and money five seconds ago."

Erin shook her head. "Oh, well that's different. I like you guys. And we've already gotten naked together. It doesn't really even count."

Kenny couldn't hold it in. "Let's get rid of Stevie here so we can have some fun." Under her knee Stevie groaned.

* * *

Erin currently looked like the sort of girl who would screw two cops. Kim couldn't deny that. After their deal was made, she made sure Stevie saw Erin leaving with her and Rixton. Erin was sure to talk in detail about all the stuff she had planned for them. The more she talked, the more poor Stevie, begged to tag along.

Once she was in the back of their car Rixton drove a few miles, pulled over and let her out of her cuffs. The moment Erin mentioned sex and drugs Kim knew the play. Amanda Johnson couldn't be in county, so she had to die. The story would spread throughout her crew that she died suspiciously in Hyde Park. Stevie would tell everyone that two cops had probably killed her so nobody would bother looking for her. Nobody looks for a dead girl.

"Rixton it's good to see you man. I heard you made it back to Intelligence." Kenny gave her a polite nod, but a genuine smile. Kenny was nothing if not loyal and he wasn't friendly with Erin if Kim wasn't.

"You too Lindsay, how you been?" Kenny hadn't bothered trying to play peacemaker between her and Erin. He never did that. When Kim cut ties, he had simply nodded and did the same.

"I'm okay. Kim, been a while, how you been?" Kim doubted Erin realized why that was. Erin had made some major personal changes and had come out of it a better person, more grounded and sustainable. But Kim couldn't forget about New Years. Erin on the other hand, surely had.

"I'm good. Working. Getting by."

"How's Jeff?"

Kim almost screamed. Jeff. She wanted to answer honestly. Jeff was a miserable bastard. A miserable bastard who was screwing Rixton's girlfriend Heather. In fact, they were surely at their hotel screwing this very minute.

Kim had been heartbroken when she learned the truth. Rixton had noticed the lies first, but he hadn't wanted to believe Heather and Jeff were cheating. Kenny loved her as much as she loved Jeff and couldn't imagine them doing something so horrible. He was being a guy about it, but Kim knew him too well, he was crying on the inside.

Kim hated getting her heartbroken, but she hated being a fool even more. The moment Kenny brought up his concerns, she went into detective mode. She was perfectly capable of catching them herself, but she didn't have the stomach to barge into some cheap hotel room and catch them in the throes of passion. She hired a P.I. instead. In fact, she and Kenny both had, splitting the fee. This morning they'd gotten their proof, hotel receipts, text messages, and pictures, lots of pictures. The P.I. even claimed to have video, if they were interested in seeing it. Kim wasn't interested though, seeing the photos of them kissing had been enough, she couldn't imagine having to sit through homemade porn.

Erin didn't know any of this of course. She was just being polite. Last time they talked Jeff was a thing. At least Erin remembered his name.

"I wasn't expecting this to end today. I knew it was coming, but wow. Six months as trashy Amanda and the next minute I'm back to being Erin."

Kenny looked in the rearview mirror. "Well Amanda is dead as of today. We're going to head down to Hyde Park, hangout awhile then some agents will come and retrieve you. After that," he shrugged.

"Extensive debriefing, drug testing, psych evaluation, blood panel. Deprogramming, relearning who Erin is." She laughed. "Amanda had the right of it. A day in bed sounds like a lot more fun." Erin leaned forward playfully. "I'm game if you guys are."

Kenny frowned. "The day I'm having, I should take you up on that."

Kim nodded glumly. "Ditto that partner." Kim saw Erin eye them curiously from the back seat but didn't bother asking questions.


	2. Chapter 1

Kim Burgess wrapped herself in a heavy wool towel and ran damp hands through wet hair. She looked at her face in the bathroom mirror, still red from the shower, and tried smiling. It looked fake, clearly disingenuous. She used to love smiling, she was a flight attendant in another life after all, flight attendants had to have perfect smiles to put people at ease. Now she had to fake it, and even then, she wasn't pulling it off. The thing she liked most about Rix was that he didn't need her to smile. He didn't expect her to always be happy. She didn't have to be the Kim Burgess who was everyone's best friend. The world had walked all over that Kim Burgess. The Kim who didn't smile had far less problems.

New Kim had fewer problems than happy Kim, but fewer wasn't none. Her and Rix were living in a hotel. On the bright side it was their last night in the hotel, but that was hardly a reason to celebrate. Living in a hotel was one step above living in a cardboard box. The strange truth of the matter was, she actually liked the place, it was upscale and clean, had a pool and a spa, someone else to do the cleaning, and thanks to Groupon it wasn't costing her an obscene amount of money. Of course, that was because Rix had gone halfsies with her on the place. Two beds, one mini kitchen, a sofa and a large plasma TV, what more could you ask for? What more did you need?

Of course, Rix complained, but he always did that. Especially when it came to finding a place to live. The guy was picky. Obnoxiously so. He needed everything just right, the right amount of sunlight in the kitchen, even though he didn't cook, a bedroom that didn't get too much sunlight, a large shower, off street parking, the list was endless. Kim suspected this was just his way of pouting. He'd taken the Jeff and Heather betrayal hard. Harder than Kim expected. She knew her partner was a secret softie, he was in the other room watching the Bachelor after all, but she couldn't have anticipated how heartbroken he'd be over it.

Rix wasn't talking about it, but Kim knew the guy, he was heartbroken, and angry, and worried. Turns out that every serious relationship he'd been in had ended in a similar way. The woman he was with always found another guy and always when she was in a relationship with him. It wasn't the sort of thing you got over easily once, let alone repeatedly. This time however, his lackluster love life had dragged her into things. Typically, she would have teased him about it, but this time she gave him a pass.

When she left the bathroom, Rix was watching beautiful women fight over a guy none of them actually knew, and again Kim forced herself not to tease him. Even SHE didn't watch the Bachelor. Instead she pretended to take an interest. "Who's winning?"

He looked at her with empty sad eyes, he was a thousand miles away. "It's not that kind of contest," he said absently. His eyes shifted back to the TV and Kim decided it was best to leave him alone. When he was like this, it was always best that he be allowed to feel his feelings. If he wanted to talk, he would. If not, he wouldn't. In either case she'd be right here.

"Last night together. Tomorrow you get your own place. No more Kim to cramp your style." She knew Rix and if he were clicking on all cylinders, he'd say he didn't have style for her to cramp. He often said his life was hectic enough, when he was home he liked peace. Absolutely no drama. Being single again, he would have to get out occasionally to meet someone new, but she could tell he wasn't looking forward to it.

"You don't cramp my style. I don't have style for you to cramp," he said. Kim laughed, causing him to turn away from the TV and stare at her. "What?"

She ran her fingers through her hair again and smiled at him, watching his eyes come alive. "I just knew you were going to say that. The moment I said it, I knew that's what you'd say."

Rix gave her a look, a real look this time. "This is exactly why we both got dumped you know. Sharing a hotel room. Finishing each other's thoughts. Taking showers together. Spending way too much time with each other." He looked at the TV again, crossing his legs at the ankles on his bed. He was already ready for bed but he wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. He was a night owl. She often woke to find him watching TV well into the night. "I even thought for a minute that we should share a place. But again, that's part of the problem."

Kim had thought the same thing about getting a place together but didn't bring it up, deciding it was too weird. Instead of admitting it, she jumped to their defense. "We DON'T take showers together. Stop saying that." Jeff and Heather had both said the same thing. The shower thing. She wasn't sure where they got the idea from, but it was ridiculous. When she'd corrected Jeff, he'd simply rolled his eyes.

Rix didn't back down but looked at her with sympathy. "Of course we don't take showers together. But you just took a shower and you're walking around only wearing a towel. Assuming your naked underneath. And when we were on vacation in Hawaii, and you were in the shower and I had to pee, I went right in without thinking twice. Heather bitched all night about the shower being clear glass and me seeing you naked. She had a hundred of those situations that convinced her we were actually fooling around."

Kim wanted to argue, but Jeff had basically said the same thing. You guys are way too comfortable naked around each other to not be having sex. Kim thought back to their peculiarities. She'd seen Rix naked more times than she could count, and she knew for a fact he saw her naked quite a bit too. In fact, he'd probably seen her naked less than twenty minutes ago.

"So what, we're comfortable together. That doesn't mean anything. It sure as hell doesn't give them permission to screw in some seedy hotel. We're the victims here Rix. And if I let you see my breasts, that's our goddamn business. If they thought we were screwing around. I mean REALLY thought that. They should have done what we did and got proof. When we found out what they were up to, did we jump into bed together to get revenge? No. Because that's insane. They're insane. Don't forget, we caught them cheating and Jeff stole my apartment and Heather threw you out on the street. We're living in a hotel." She pointed at the two of them. "Victims. Don't forget that."

Rix nodded and turned his attention back to the TV. "I know, we haven't done anything wrong. It was just hard explaining me and you to her. She wasn't trying to hear it. Not for a second."

Kim understood that. Jeff had been the exact same way. There was no talking to him. He was convinced that not only were she and Rix having sex, but that they were in love with each other. He'd also said they were too stupid to realize it, but that was just him being mean.

"I don't give a crap what they say. You're my partner. The first partner I've had that's stuck around. I don't have to explain my relationship with you to anybody. I think the boss has the right of it. From now on, anybody asks me about us, I'm telling them to mind their own goddamn business. No sugarcoating it."

Rix looked back at her and nodded. "I got your back partner."

* * *

Hailey Upton didn't like Erin Lindsay, every cop in Chicago knew that. Their blowup in the old Intelligence squad back in the 21st precinct was the stuff of legend. The last time Hailey heard the tale it had grown to Paul Bunyan status. According to that version of the story not only did she and Erin manage to come to blows, but she also tossed Erin down a flight of stairs, almost killing her. She'd heard several variations of the story, some tame, some salacious, all of them incorrect, but the one thing every story got right, the women didn't get along.

Hailey had been embarrassed by the whole thing. It was hard trying to get young cops to open up to her when all of them were worried about getting their asses kicked. The latest addition to her team, Anne Gates, was a smart young cop. Brave, tough, and willing to learn. Problem was, she was terrified of Hailey. Every time she addressed Gates the young officer expected to get an ass chewing. That alone was enough to upset Hailey.

Officer Gates was riding with Detective McNeal since Officer Pete Davis had been sent back to patrol. McNeal, a grey haired, green eyed, cop with severe acne scars, and a quiet disposition, was a veteran cop who'd transferred in from Vice. He was thorough in his work, not jaded from years of street work, but quiet and typically kept to himself. He was the total opposite of Anne Gates. Gates was an attractive young African American woman who was barely 25, half his age. Still, the two seemed to get along, and like Davis, Gates had tons of questions, but all of them were about work. McNeal liked that.

When Erin Lindsay stepped into the squad, her hair dyed blonde and tucked under a ball cap, her eyes hidden by dark shades, Hailey almost didn't recognize her. Almost. She practically screamed Jay's name though, a dead giveaway, and wrapped him in a huge hug. Jay returned the hug, a bit uncomfortably, and pulled away quickly.

"Jay Halstead," Erin said sounding chipper. A bit too chipper for Hailey's liking, but she let it go. The blonde former swimsuit model turned FBI agent, Mandy Sanderson, was behind Erin. It had been nearly two weeks since Sanderson had come into their squad asking for assistance. The team had readily agreed, with Rixton and Burgess personally pulling Erin out from undercover. Erin had disappeared afterwards, and Hailey hoped she'd changed her mind about moving back home to Chicago.

Hailey couldn't be so lucky. She was the only one who seemed annoyed by Erin's appearance. The squad came to life when Erin entered the room. Ruzek and Atwater greeted her with hugs. The newbies who hadn't actually met her but had heard her name through stories, perked up with interest. Hailey may have considered Erin public enemy number one, but she was alone. Erin was loved. She was a member of the Intelligence family and according to Voight that always made her family. Hailey stood in her doorway watching the scene unfold, unsure of how to proceed. Pretending to be friends was humiliating but ignoring her was bitchy. She decided on a middle approach.

"Special Agent Lindsay, Sanderson," Hailey said walking over and extending a hand. Sanderson nodded politely, shook quickly, and disappeared into the background. Erin inspected the hand for booby-traps. Hailey quietly congratulated herself on the choice. A handshake was polite and professional and couldn't possibly be confused with sucking up or being a bitch.

Erin decided the gesture wasn't a trick and shook her hand quickly, then quickly discarded it and abruptly wrapped Hailey in a hug.

"Hailey, it's good to see you. Jay told me you got shot a while back."

Hailey HAD BEEN shot almost eight months ago, once in the left shoulder by some punk with a .22. She had been wearing her vest but the damn kid had gotten lucky and the bullet missed it. When she got hit, the bullet caught her off guard, knocking her off her feet, causing her to smack her head hard on the cement, knocking her unconscious. The team rounded up two of the three bad guys at the scene, but the shooter got away. Rixton made the call to secure the scene and get Hailey help, her safety being priority one. Jay had been livid at first, but quickly apologized and agreed Kenny had made the right call. Hailey's life came first.

"Yeah, bad day. I'm still ticking though," she said doing her best not to be bitchy. Erin always made her bitchy.

"Yeah, when I heard I was worried," she said without saying what everyone in the room knew she actually meant. Worried about Jay. She made sure that was clear pretty quickly though. "Halstead was pretty freaked. I still remember how I felt when he got taken by some guys years ago. I was going crazy."

Hailey had heard that horrible story. Jay still had scars from that day, physical and mental. Erin had been off whoring and boozing, but that incident had snapped her back to focus, she showed up and saved Jay's life.

"You found him though," Hailey said giving her the credit she deserved. High and drunk or not, she'd saved Jay that day. That alone was enough to earn her Hailey's gratitude.

"Barely. He was only in trouble in the first place because I wasn't watching his back." Erin looked over at Jay, smiled politely, then looked around the room. "Anyone seen Burgess and Rixton? I've been trying to get them all day."

The room grew quiet and eyes darted around. Jay finally broke the awkward silence. "They took the day off to move."

Erin's eyes squinted with curiosity. "They're BOTH moving today? Are they moving in together or something?" It was clearly a joke, but the squad didn't delve into that sort of humor.

Jay shook his head. "No, nothing like that. They both needed to find new places and they decided to make a day out of it. They're gonna move her, then him, and be back at work tomorrow."

Erin seemed to recognize there was more to the story but decided not to ask. Hailey was happy for that, if she had asked, it would have required her to be bitchy again. The team rule was that everyone minded their own business about personal stuff. Kim and Kenny weren't talking about their problems, so nobody asked. They had each other to lean on.

Of course, everyone knew what was going on. They'd caught their significant others having an affair. It had been seemingly going on for months right under Kim and Kenny's noses. They hadn't talked about it to anyone, having done a damn good job of keeping it quiet, but the story got out because of Officer Davis' eavesdropping. Instead of keeping it to himself, he told the entire precinct. The next day Hailey sent him back down to patrol and replaced him with Gates. The rest of the squad didn't need to be told to butt out, especially not after that. In the two weeks since the rumors spread nobody had spoken a word about it publicly and Davis was persona non grata with the entire precinct.

"They're like that, too peas in a pod. One does, the other follows," McNeal said softly. It was something everyone already knew about them, so it wasn't considered talking out of school. Still, McNeal swiftly changed the subject. "How's the case?"

Erin looked at Mandy then shrugged diplomatically. "That's why we're here actually. Apparently one of the guys in the crew, Stevie, he's trying to cut a deal with the US Attorney. This AUSA didn't have the details to the case at first. Not the particulars at least. So when Stevie said two cops killed his friend Amanda, the guy jumped all over it. Stevie cut a deal to rat out Burgess and Rixton. The AUSA found out later that dead Amanda is really alive Agent Lindsey, but he can't pull the deal without tipping the bad guys off. We got Stevie to flip on his buddies too, so he can keep the deal, but we need Rixton and Burgess to play along for a bit. If everyone pleads out it won't matter anymore. But if one of these guys takes this case to trial I'll have to testify, and the bosses want me dead until then."

Jay looked at her confused. "So you want everyone in Chicago thinking they're dirty cops. Murdering dirty cops even."

Hailey shook her head. "No. No way. They don't need this bullshit right now Erin. They've got enough going on."

Sanderson, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "We're sorry. We tried to stop it, but our bosses talked to your bosses and it's already done. This case is huge. Five states huge, millions in cash and forfeitures huge. The Attorney General wants this. We were coming to give them a heads up. The FBI is going to stage an arrest."

Ruzek shook his head. "An arrest? Their families are gonna hear that Lindsay. A story like that makes the news. National news. They're gonna get crucified in the media."

Erin nodded solemnly. "I know guys. I raised hell. Told the bosses this will ruin their reputations. They didn't back off. Though they did get the PD to agree to give them both merit promotions and choice of assignment."

Hailey sighed. "This is bullshit."

Jay shook his head. "Yeah it is."

* * *

Kim Burgess wasn't sure what happened. One minute she had a box of kitchen utensils in her hands and the next she was being handcuffed by the FBI. Rix must have heard the commotion because he came rushing out of her apartment with a head full of steam. In that moment Kim was glad he wasn't armed. If he had been, she was sure he'd have drawn his weapon, and given the state of things he probably would have died. Instead he was quickly wrestled to the ground and roughly handcuffed. The feds left him face down in the dirt like a criminal and when Kim told the federal agents they were cops she found herself face down beside him.

It was a shit day. All around horrible. It was bad enough she had to move out of HER apartment because Jeff, a lawyer, had previously argued points in the lease, making the landlord rewrite it. But when it was time for them to sign it, Jeff only signed HIS name to it. Effectively making it HIS apartment. Kim hadn't worried about it at the time, and didn't consider it a big deal, things with Jeff were great. It wasn't until he was confronted with his cheating that she realized it WAS in fact a big deal. She was promptly kicked out of her own place and tossed out onto the street like trash. It was a humiliating cap on a terrible situation. Rix hadn't fared any better. He had moved in with Heather and found himself homeless as well. He'd found a place not far from Kim and the plan was to get them both moved in today and get back to some semblance of a normal life.

Today was supposed to be a new beginning. Moving day. But two hours into the job the feds had shown up and arrested her. It took her an hour to even find out her charges, corruption and murder. She wasn't sure who she was supposed to have killed and when she asked all she got was a dirty look. As to the corruption, that technically could have been anything. She asked about that too, but she hadn't gotten an answer.

She had been arrested, read her Miranda rights, fingerprinted, strip searched, informed of her official charges, and taken to a cold concrete holding cell in federal lockup. She sat alone in that cell for hours wondering how the beginning of her new life had turned out so shitty. Murder? She hadn't murdered anyone. Sure, she'd killed some people, but always in the line of duty and she'd always been cleared by the department afterwards. The idea that she could murder someone in cold blood was insane. Then again, it was the FBI, who knew what they thought about her. For all she knew they thought all Chicago cops were dirty.

Another hour passed before she got her phone call. She hadn't had her cell in her pocket when she was arrested so she had to dial on memory. Worried about wasting time she called the only person whose number she knew by heart, and who always picked up. Hank Voight.

"Voight," Hank answered.

"Boss I'm in trouble. Rixton and I got picked up by the feds. They're holding us at MCC. Corruption and murder they're saying. They're not telling us anything, not who, not what we did. I need a lawyer and for you to tell the team what's up." It dawned on her in that moment that if she and Rix were picked up, it's possible the rest of the team was too.

It had been a month since she'd last seen Voight, but no matter how much time had passed, he was always loyal to those loyal to him, even now. In typical Voight fashion, he lost it. "Murder," he screamed into the phone. "Burgess sit tight, and don't say a word. I'm sending a lawyer down there and I'm gonna find out what the hell is going on."

"Ok," she said hesitantly. "Thanks boss." She would wait for Voight. At the very least he'd get some answers. And it wasn't like she was going anyplace.

* * *

Atwater and Ruzek ran up the stairs in a huff. Jay could see in their faces something was wrong. They'd been trying Burgess and Rixton for hours and neither had answered their phones. They sent people to their old places, their parents places, hangout spots, still nothing. Nobody had seen them all day. Finally, Ruzek had the idea to check with their old landlords for a forwarding address and got lucky with a current address. The hope was that they were busy moving and simply hadn't checked their phones. From the look on Kevin and Adam's faces, that wasn't the case.

"What happened, did you find them," Hailey asked. She'd been seriously annoyed with this entire situation. Kim and Kenny were her cops, her responsibility. She was taking this whole thing personally.

Adam looked pissed. "We found her place. Their cars are there, big moving truck. No Kim, no Rixton, no boxes. Neighbors say two people got arrested by maybe ten FBI agents about three hours ago. Roughed up, thrown in the dirt, handcuffed, the whole thing. Then get this, the Feds left the truck and apartment wide open. The neighbors said some guys in a pickup came by and took all the stuff off the open truck. TVs, sofa, bed, all of it, gone. No description of the truck, no plates. Nothing. One of the neighbors finally managed to shut the apartment door. Guns and badges both inside, thank God."

Jay's stomach turned. They had asked Erin repeatedly if the Feds had them. She insisted she'd get a call before the arrest happened, it wasn't scheduled until tomorrow she said, to give Kim and Kenny time to get prepared. Hailey asked her several times to check, so Erin called someone, talked briefly, then stuck to her story. Now it turns out she'd been wrong.

"Fucking feds," Atwater said with disgust. "It's bad enough to put them through this, but to let people steal all her stuff? How hard is it to lock a damn moving truck?"

Hailey stood and grabbed her keys. She looked at Jay with angry eyes. If Erin were here, she'd surely get her ass chewed.

"I'm headed downtown, I'm gonna talk to someone, see if I can spring them." She took two steps towards the stairs when Hank Voight came bounding up. He didn't look like the Voight of old. Gone was the old worn jeans and old boots. He was wearing nice slacks and a dress shirt but still hadn't ditched the leather jacket. Despite the new job, and new clothes, he was the same old Voight, angry, red faced, and biting his bottom lip. Jay knew that face. He was furious.

"Nice to see you're all just sitting around having a good time, but Burgess and Rixton are sitting down in MCC on a murder charge." He looked over at Jay, his protégé, and Jay could practically see the disappointment in his old boss's eyes.

"Boss. We've been tearing the city up all day looking for them. We just heard this minute that the Feds had them. We asked them a few times if they did, but they kept telling us no. Turns out they were lying to us." Hailey, despite being the same rank as Voight, still deferred to him as the boss even though he hadn't been her boss for months. Hank Voight couldn't quite manage to retire. Instead he'd given up field work and picked up an administrative job. At least he had something to do everyday where nobody was shooting at him, he said.

Hank ignored the comment. "So, let's hear it, who the hell is this Amanda Johnson? Burgess and Rixton arrested her 5 years ago I guess, but for the life of me she's not ringing a bell. Which is surprising given the amount of weight they caught her with. She would have been a big deal back then. You don't typically forget those."

Jay sighed. "Boss this whole case is bullshit. Amanda Johnson is Erin. She backstopped herself with them, and they leaned into it when they pulled her out from undercover. They arrested her and played up the dirty cop angle when they snatched her up for the feds. The feds killed Johnson on paper to protect Erin, but the last guy to see her alive saw her leave with Kim and Kenny. He's in lock up, looking to cut a deal, so he says, hey I know two cops who killed my friend Amanda. She was sleeping with them, giving them drugs, all that stuff. AUSA, he's not in the loop, hears all this and blows his stack. He makes a deal."

Hank stared in awe, then shook it off. "So, its bullshit. Why are they still in lock up?"

Hailey looked at him like an embarrassed daughter. "This case is massive boss. Five states. Guns, drugs, hundreds of millions in cash and asset forfeitures. Kim and Kenny got dealt away by the bosses. The bosses agreed to let them get arrested to make nice with the feds. Erin was here earlier looking to give them a heads up. It wasn't supposed to go down until tomorrow. Somebody fucked up."

Ruzek couldn't hide his disgust. "We asked these assholes five times if they had them and they said no. Meanwhile they scooped them both up hours ago. Kim was in the middle of moving into a new place. They arrested her on her front lawn and left the moving van wide open. Some piece of shit stole all her stuff. TV, clothes, sofa, bed, everything boss, completely emptied out the truck."

Voight looked like he was going to go nuts, but instead he looked at Jay, then Hailey.

"So, what you guys gonna do? These are YOUR people getting dicked around. Two cops, innocent cops, sitting down at MCC like a couple of cons. Do you guys have any idea what kind of danger they're in? I've been inside as a cop. I almost got shanked ten minutes in. I had to make a deal for protection. A deal that cost me big when I got out."

Jay watched Hailey come to a quick decision. "I'm gonna go see if I can bail them out."

Jay watched Voight's eyes narrow and saw that creepy smile slide across his face. "That may not be the right way to play this. Part of surviving in this city is stocking up on favors. I sent a lawyer down to MCC for Kim and Kenny. I'll give him a call and tell him to tell the both of them to sit tight. If you play this right, you can use this to give yourselves a lot more clout. If this case is as big as you say. This can be good for you guys. Hailey take a ride with me. I got an idea." Jay knew Hank, he had a thousand tricks, he had to in order to survive this long.

* * *

Voight must have come through on a lawyer because within an hour of speaking to him, Kim was dragged into a private room to speak with her attorney. A short bald lawyer introduced himself as Dennis Miller, not the actor. Kim realized this was a joke, but she didn't laugh, couldn't laugh. She was in federal lockup on a murder charge. Laughing was the last thing she felt like doing. It had been hours, but it felt like days, with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. Being in lockup sucked.

Kim had never heard of this Miller guy, but she assumed he was good. Voight had sent him, and Voight didn't mess around with stuff like this. When you were in trouble spare no expense he always said. Broke is better than prison. Everything is better than prison. Kim hadn't really understood that until now. Miller didn't look like much, disheveled, balding, average looking, but beggars couldn't be choosers. A paid lawyer was always the way to go. A court appointed lawyer would surely land her in prison. The moment she sat down he shushed her and informed her that they were waiting on Rixton.

Rix was brought in minutes later by two federal guards, and Kim almost cried when she saw him. He looked like Hell, his shirt was ripped at the neck, and he was sporting a black eye. She almost rose to go to him, but the moment she tried one of the guards that brought him in told her to sit the hell down. Miller eyed her nervously indicating that she should obey, so she did. While she worried, Miller scribbled in a legal pad. The guard lingered in the doorway for ten to fifteen seconds before Miller finally indicated he leave by asking for some privacy. The guard left without another word.

When the door shut Kim looked at Rix with concern. "What the hell happened?" She wanted to touch him, comfort him in some way, but if standing was against the rules, touching was surely against the rules.

Rix shrugged bravely. "Federal lockup man. Ran into some old friends. I saw a lot of familiar faces in there. A lot. I need to get into PC or I won't last the night." Kim felt sick, she looked at Miller who was scribbling in a notepad. He didn't look at all concerned.

"Detective Burgess, are you okay, any familiar faces?" It was an odd question. At least an odd time to ask it.

"No. But can you do something about Kenny? He's in danger. He should be in Protective Custody. I'm in PC. I have a solo cell. Nobody but guards around at all. He should be too. These guys know he's a cop."

Miller kept scribbling then finally sparked to life. "I talked to Hank. He talked to your Sergeants. They want you to hang tight. They're getting you out of here. In the mean while take mental notes of everything. Every cross word from the guards. Threats from inmates. Everything. We're gonna use it all. This is a big fat lawsuit and given the state of this case the feds are working on, they're gonna settle big. If they don't, not only will it torpedo this case they're working on, it'll get some people fired."

Rix wasn't in the mood for cloak and dagger. "What the fuck is going on? They're saying we killed someone. Who the fuck are we supposed to have killed?"

Miller smiled, the sight of it made Kim want to smack him. "Amanda Johnson," he said knowingly.

Rix leaned back in his chair with disgust. "Seriously. Amanda fucking Johnson. That's who we killed. That's who I was handcuffed, arrested, and thrown in jail for? That's why I'm in here fighting for my life? Fucking bullshit." The name wasn't ringing a bell for Kim, but Rix, always a good partner, spotted it. "Amanda Johnson from Hyde Park. Arrested her two weeks ago with a skinny tweaker with purple hair."

Kim let the words swim around in her brain for a moment before it struck her like a freight train. Amanda Johnson? "Are you fucking serious? Amanda Johnson?"

Miller nodded again, still smiling. "Yes sir. This is one big cluster fuck. You're here based on a lie the FBI themselves told a con, who retold them that same lie and they believed it, which got you both arrested. This Amanda is apparently an FBI agent and she's very much alive. Hank was just with her five minutes ago."

Kim was livid. She'd been arrested, humiliated, put in handcuffs, strip searched, Rix had even gotten into a fight. "How the hell did they fuck this up? Its THEIR story. They put our names in their fake file without our permission. Ask us to help them, even though we didn't want to, and they arrest us for it."

Rix suddenly looked exhausted. "You know what, fuck this man. Tell the bosses I'll sit tight. But fuck this. I'm done with this bullshit."

Kim's heart broke. Rix was a closet softie, he complained constantly, but he never complained about the job. He took things as they came and he never threatened to quit. He loved work. Hearing him say he wanted out was like having her heart ripped out of her chest. She wanted to convince him to take some time. Tell him to not be rash, but she didn't have the heart. He was having a bad run lately and nothing anyone could say would erase it. Not even her.

"Mr. Miller, tell Sergeant Upton to get us the hell out of here. This is how Olinsky got killed. Rix already got attacked. We won't survive in here. Tell them to set up a phoney bail hearing or something but this is too dangerous. Our lives are in danger."

Miller nodded, scribbling furiously in his notepad.

* * *

Hailey hated courthouses she'd always hated courthouses. Testifying was her least favorite part of the job. Any small mistake and some lawyer pounced all over it and made you look like a liar. Today was even worse because it was Kim and Kenny standing in front of a judge.

After speaking with Voight Hailey head downtown to speak with Deputy Chief Noel James about the situation facing her. James knew about the situation, claimed to have argued against it, and said he was appalled. Hailey got the impression he was lying but wasn't stupid enough to say so. Instead, she laid out the long list of screw ups in the case. The failure to give Kim and Kenny a heads up. Getting Kim's entire life stolen. Then her being repeatedly told that the feds didn't have them in custody. Lies that cost them precious time and resources and left the cops in the situation where they were forced to spend the night in jail.

James listened, but didn't seem concerned. Not until Voight called. Hailey told him she was with James and let him know she was putting him on speakerphone. Voight didn't disappoint.

"Did the lawyer see them," Hailey asked. "How are they?"

Hank's voice was full of stifled rage. "Oh, he saw them alright. Hailey this thing has gotten out of hand. Miller says they aren't in protective custody. Rix already got attacked. He said the guy isn't in a good headspace. He actually said the guy says he'll do this for YOU, but afterwards he's done with the job."

James finally seemed to be taking things seriously. "How is he? How bad was the attack?"

"I'm not sure sir. I'm not even sure if he's gotten medical attention. His lawyer asked but Detective Rixton said it didn't matter anymore."

James cursed. "What's his head space been lately Sergeant?"

Hailey hated speaking about her cops' private lives but now wasn't the time to be coy. Rixton didn't seem to be doing good at all.

"Sir I tried telling the FBI that neither Detective Rixton or Detective Burgess is in the proper mental space to deal with this. Cards on the table. Two weeks ago, they found out their significant others were having an affair. Both got tossed out of their homes. They've both been living out of a hotel for weeks. Today they were getting new places, starting fresh. The feds just shit all over that. Not only that but when they arrested her, the Feds didn't secure her possessions. Kim lost everything she owns. We decided it was best not to tell her about that, she doesn't even know. I've had them both riding a desk. They aren't ready to be on the street, let alone in lock up working some federal operation that they weren't even informed they were part of."

James looked sick. "I had no idea," he said softly. He was finally getting it.

Voight, even over the phone, smelled blood. "Sir it's her job to make sure you didn't know. Had anybody bothered to ask her, she'd have told them. But nobody did. This operation not only undermined her command, but it put those cops in danger. Good cops going through a rough patch. Miller said Burgess is afraid for her life in there. He said she mentioned she doesn't want to end up like Detective Alvin Olinsky, who was in this exact situation and was subsequently killed."

James finally rose to his feet, he'd heard enough. He pushed a button on his desk and asked his assistant to get the Superintendent's office on the phone. He told Hailey that he was going to handle this personally. Now, today, they were in court, waiting on a bail hearing.

Overnight things had gotten better, and worse. Rixton had been put someplace safe, away from the other inmates, but Hailey had been told he'd gotten into another fight before that happened. And even worse, the story was in the news. At least the fake story about Kim and Kenny being dirty.

When the Marshals brought Rixton into the courtroom he looked like he'd been through hell. He had a black eye and a busted lip, and he was walking gingerly, favoring his side. Her heart dropped when she saw him, and beside her Jay grabbed her hand and squeezed.

The courtroom was full of cops, Kenny's guys from Gangs, cops from the 21st precinct. Erin and her model partner were also in attendance, but they hadn't spoken to anyone. Hailey had purposely avoided them, if she spoke to Erin today, they'd surely fight.

Kim was brought in about a minute after Kenny and when she saw him Hailey could see the worry in her eyes, then the anger. She was unshackled and immediately reached for him, but a Marshal grabbed her arm roughly. The place went berserk in response. The federal prosecutor practically leapt out from behind his desk and rushed over to the Marshal. Hailey watched him whisper something to him then saw the Marshal pull away with confusion. He looked at Rixton with even more confusion then said something to the prosecutor that Hailey couldn't hear. She had a pretty good idea what it was. What the fuck is wrong you guys?

After that, things quieted down pretty quickly. Hailey watched a few preliminary routine acts before a judge entered the room. He was CLEARLY aware of what was going on. Before court Hailey had been told by Trudy Platt that the Superintendent, after speaking with DC James, had called the Attorney General's office, bypassing the bumbling Chicago field office completely. After reading everyone the riot act and assuring the AG that they would surely all be sued immediately, he advised the AG to do whatever needed to be done to get his cops out of jail.

Platt also told her that keeping Burgess' and Rixton's personal problems in house and keeping them on a desk had backfired. Although Trudy assured her this made her look good instead of bad, every cop wanted a boss who would protect them like that. Hailey doubted that. Someone would get blamed for this fiasco and she doubted it would be the bosses. James had quickly protected himself by calling the Superintendent with a head full of steam, he'd be fine. She doubted she'd be so lucky.

The judge rushed through the hearing lightning quick. Hailey could see him giving the prosecutor the evil eye the entire time. It was the AUSA's job to fight bail, but the guy didn't have the nerve to put on a proper show. The judge agreed to bail but set it high, a million dollars each. Hailey was almost discouraged until she heard it was already posted. A little processing and they were free to go.

* * *

Erin showed up at the house making Jay question her sanity. Hailey had been in a pissy mood all day and Jay couldn't blame her for feeling that way. Seeing Rixton beat to hell had been hard on the entire unit, but Hailey in particular, had taken it the hardest. He was her cop. Him and Kim both. She was sure she let them both down. The worst for her had been when they were released, they'd both given her hugs and thanked her. In the car on the way back to the station she'd cried over that, something she rarely did.

Rixton was in a bad state. Hailey mentioned he talked about quitting police work while inside, and there was more of that talk when he got released. Jay couldn't envision trying to talk him out of it. If he were Kenny he'd probably want to quit too.

Hailey had to break the news to Kim that all her stuff had been stolen out of an unlocked truck. The look on Kim's face was seared into his brain, surrender, total surrender. Hailey had seen the look too and suddenly found herself worried about losing them both. When they saw the front page of the newspaper, decorated with their photos and draped with the headline, Chicago's Dirtiest Cops? They both stared briefly but didn't bother to comment. That worried Jay more than them being upset. If they were upset, at least they'd have some fight. Them saying nothing was a cause for concern. It was the second time Kenny had been called dirty. If it were Jay, he knew he'd be steaming mad. Kenny didn't seem to care anymore.

Now Erin showing up at their place was making a hard day worse. Hailey was in the back lying in bed, and when he told her Erin was here, she hadn't answered. It was just as well, she was surely short on diplomacy today anyway.

"Jay, sorry to stop by unannounced. I just wanted to personally apologize for all this. I guess I've been in New York too long. I forgot how Chicago works. If this happened in New York, heads would be rolling. Everyone would be getting written up and fired. My boss would have personally scrapped this operation and accepted responsibility for the mistakes made. But here, everyone is covering their ass. The only one who'll end up getting fired is the kid who forgot to send the email." She breathed heavy and Jay stepped aside to let her in.

She took a few steps inside, taking a minute to inspect the place. A hint of something crossed her face but she brushed it aside.

"Nice place," she finally said. It sounded genuine but Jay knew Erin, she didn't mean it. He often thought about the place he'd wanted to buy with her. That place was larger than his place with Hailey, more expensive. But this place was homier, more welcoming. Hailey had fallen in love with this place the moment she saw it. The way her eyes lit up when she saw it, he couldn't possibly pick another place after seeing that.

"Yeah, we're making it work. You want some water, soda?" Erin was sober going on five years now. He was proud of her for that and wouldn't dare risk it by even offering her a sip of alcohol.

She shook her head. "I'm okay. I tried calling Kim and Kenny both. They aren't picking up. How they doing?"

Jay breathed deeply, walking into the living room and sitting down on the sofa. Erin followed but sat in a recliner a few feet away.

"Not good Erin. Kenny's talking about quitting."

He could see the news upset her. "Really? Damn. Kenny's good police."

"This was the absolute worst time this could happen to them. They have a lot going on."

Erin looked a bit confused. "Is it about Jeff? Kim said they broke up."

"Yeah, he was stepping out on her with Kenny's girlfriend." Jay felt like a big mouth saying it, but it was all over the city already. Once the Superintendent's office found out, everyone knew.

"No," Erin said surprised. "I liked Jeff, how could he do that? And with Kenny's girlfriend." She shook her head then added up more pieces. "Is that why she was moving? I thought it was HER apartment."

"He's a lawyer, he pulled some trick. Kicked her out. Kenny's girl did the same to him. They've been living in a hotel for weeks. That's what we meant yesterday when we said they didn't need this."

"I'm sorry, I had no idea. If I knew I could have backed my people off. I can't believe they jumped the gun. How do you make that arrest and not tell them it's just a show? And I heard Kim lost everything because those dipshits left the truck open. All her stuff. The guys at the office are playing not it and even trying to say its just stuff that can be replaced. I told them Kim had stuff from her grandmother that can't be replaced." She drifted momentarily then came back to Earth.

"The Attorney General called the Director of the FBI, who called my boss. They're worried they're gonna get sued. When they saw Kenny's face, they went insane. They're opening an investigation into what happened at MCC, blaming the Bureau of Prisons, because of course, it's all THEIR fault."

Jay almost laughed. "Fucking Chicago man. Gotta love it."

"Well at least she has a place. It'll be empty, but it's a start."

That wasn't true anymore either. Nobody wanted a couple of criminal cops living next door. Voight had called an hour ago and told Hailey that Kenny and Kim were back at the hotel.

"After having their mugs plastered all over the news, their places fell through. They're back at the hotel. Voight called an hour ago. He's going to make some calls, but it might just make sense for them to wait it out. Stay at the hotel. Hailey's checking to see if we can get the department to cover the cost, seeing how its their fault. I doubt it happens but who knows right?"

Erin leaned back in her seat and stared at him, holding his gaze a moment too long. Finally, she looked away, smiled playfully.

"Hailey asleep," she finally asked? Her smiled evaporated into nothing, like magic.

It was a strange question, out of the blue. But he figured it made sense to ask. It was Hailey's home, if she weren't here Erin would never be allowed inside. Jay knew letting her in without Hailey's knowledge was a rookie mistake.

"She's up. Already in bed though. This FBI stuff really has her upset. These are HER cops. I mean we both run the unit but Rixton and Kim are her team leaders. This has her pretty down."

"I get the feeling she's avoiding me. Figured she might be pissed at me," Erin admitted. There was no love lost between her and Hailey but Hailey hadn't mention her much at all.

"You were undercover Erin. She knows this wasn't you. You've known Kenny and Kim longer than she has. She knows you'd never put their lives in jeopardy." He smiled for what felt like the first time today. "If she's avoiding you it's not about THAT. She just doesn't like you."

The corners of Erin's mouth curled into a smile. "Yeah, I pieced that together."

* * *

Rix finally fell asleep, but it took Kim climbing beside him in bed to make it happen. He told her he hadn't slept at all inside. His mind wouldn't stop racing, his heart wouldn't stop pounding. Getting jumped by gang members who knew you were a cop was enough to give anyone a sleepless night.

Kim had tried to get him to sleep when they checked back into the hotel. Without the Groupon it was costing a fortune, and she wasn't sure how long they could afford it. But that was another day's worry. She wanted him someplace comfortable. It hadn't worked though, he was refusing to close his eyes longer than a blink. She finally got him to agree to sleep by negotiating with him. His head was shaky before, but this fiasco only made it worse, now he was paranoid.

He was in bad shape. The worst she'd ever seen him. Rix wasn't touchy freely. He didn't spend much time talking about his feelings. But he wasn't the sort of guy who brooded either. He was a complainer, but he wasn't a whiner. Hearing him abruptly claim to want to quit his job had scared her, it wasn't the sort of thing he did. She had grown used to having him close, and after her revolving door of partners he was the first one she'd grown to rely on. She'd had some good partners through the years, Kevin, Roman, Tay, Antonio, even Olinsky for a while. But Kenny Rixton was the partner she'd been searching for since she joined the department. A cop who had her back, could practically read her mind, and simply let her be herself.

She could still see the anger in his eyes when they got their first moment alone. He'd been polite to the federal prosecutor who offered a private apology, unnecessarily kind to the US Marshals who had treated him roughly. He had thanked Upton, and Voight, and Halstead. It wasn't their fault after all, and they'd come through and got them out of lockup like promised. But through all his politeness Kim could see the rage boiling beneath the surface. The worst thing was, she was sure she was the only one who saw it.

"They risked our lives like a couple of pawns on a chess board. You were right, we should have never agreed to help Kent Bell's wife. And why is she even an FBI agent? Her husband is filthy rich, she has a two-story condo on the Gold Coast. Millions of dollars in the bank. And she shows up and sets our careers on fire. Our entire lives. My mother saw that crap in the news about me being a murderer Kim. She was crying."

He had paced the hotel room floor and complained for about a minute before pain forced him to stop. He had been holding his side since their release and when Kim suggested a trip to the hospital to get checked out, he flatly refused. Kim suspected he had broken ribs from his fights.

He finally laid in bed, still complaining, refusing to sleep. She finally managed to get him to shut his eyes, nap a bit, but only if she'd stay awake to 'Keep Watch'. Kim wasn't sure who she was watching out for, but she agreed without fuss to get him to rest. He also suggested she stay close, so she climbed onto bed beside him and he finally drifted off.

He slept for a few hours, moaning and groaning the whole time, his ribs clearly bothering him. She had the TV on to some old Julia Robert's movie about a woman trying to steal her best friend from his fiance, but she wasn't watching. She was watching Rix.

If he actually did quit the department, she wasn't sure what she'd do. She was used to working with him, riding with him, watching his back. She wasn't sure she had the desire to start over again with someone new. If he left the job, she'd probably leave Intelligence too. She was tired of playing musical partners. There was plenty of stuff she could do in the PD that she could do alone.

Beside her in bed Rix began to wheeze. Her brain said honor his wishes and let him sleep, but her heart said ignore that, he needs help. She listened to her heart.

* * *

Hailey knew middle of the night phone calls were never good news. Good news, great news, could wait until morning. So, when Dr. Natalie Manning called her at 2am waking her up she knew it could only be bad news.

Jay slept through her phone ringing, but she broke his sleep with a kiss, that always woke him. His eyes crept open sleepily and when he looked at her something in them switched to concern.

"Hey, what's up," he asked. "What's wrong."

She steeled her nerves, forcing herself not to cry again. She'd already done that once today and vowed never to do it again. Bosses didn't cry.

"That was Nat on the phone. Kenny was wheezing in his sleep and Burges had him brought into the hospital. He has two broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung."

Jay didn't say anything, just hugged her and got out of bed and got dressed. On the drive to the hospital she debated whether or not to call the team. If she did, they'd all climb out of bed to come check on him. Kenny being Kenny, he wouldn't want to cause a scene. Still, if she didn't and things went bad, the team would be pissed they weren't there.

She'd gotten most of the team on the phone by the time they made it to the hospital. Jay's maybe sister in law Natalie was talking to her maybe fiance, Jay's brother Will. Will cut their conversation off immediately when he saw them, giving Natalie's hand a gentle squeeze before walking away.

He greeted them both with hugs, Natalie, who Hailey had grown quite fond of, followed suit. Will Halstead didn't waste time on pleasantries.

"He's stable for now. Burgess said he was refusing medical treatment for what she suspected was broken ribs. She also said he hadn't slept in over 24 hours. She finally managed to get him to sleep, but he was moaning, likely the ribs. Once he started wheezing, she ignored his wishes and dialed 911. He's lucky she was there. If he was alone, or if she had fallen asleep, it's very likely he could have died. Suffocated to death."

Hailey suspected as much. In the right setting that sort of thing was dangerous but not a huge deal. In the wrong setting it was a HUGE deal. Thank God Kim was there.

"Burgess with him now?"

Natalie shook her head. "She's in a bed under observation. We had to sedate her. She was really worked up when she arrived and that continued to progress as she learned more about his condition. She needed rest as well."

"If she wakes up and doesn't see him, she's just gonna freak out again bro." Jay said exactly what she was thinking. If she wakes up without Rixton she'll probably think he's dead or something and freak out.

"These two have had a rough go of it these past few days, anything you guys can do for them would be great," Hailey added. She couldn't imagine what could be done but it couldn't hurt to ask.

Will looked at them both confused. "That crap they're saying about them on the news," he began.

"Bullshit," Jay said quickly. "Work stuff. Cop stuff. They're both good cops. Honest cops. We wouldn't be here if they weren't."

Natalie nodded. "I figured. Nobody here believed it. Kim? No way is she some murderous dirty cop. If you knew her at all you'd think anyone saying otherwise was insane."

"Not everyone knows her. That's the problem." Hailey knew most people were ready to believe the worst. And even in some situations they could be convinced people they love were capable of horrible things. She wouldn't let that happen to her people. Kenney and Kim wouldn't have to worry about that.

"Can we see them?" Jay asked.

Will nodded. "Yeah, absolutely." They're right this way."


	3. Chapter 2

Kim woke up slowly, groggy at first, then growing more alert over time. She had been asleep for hours, having been given a sedative to calm her down after causing a ruckus in the hospital. Hailey had been told she'd come into the hospital in hysterics, or very nearly so. She'd caused a huge commotion, screaming at nurses, fighting with doctors and when a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound security officer tried to subdue her she'd taken him down so violently she'd been sedated and restrained.

"She's a whole lot tougher than she looks." Dr. Daniel Charles was a deliberate man, so Hailey expected the question was a psychological trick of some kind that he didn't really want to know the answer to as much as see HOW she'd answer it. She knew Psychiatrists liked to ask questions to gauge your response, so she gave him next to nothing.

"The toughest," she said giving him a look then turning away. Dr. Charles stared at her, making her uncomfortable enough that she looked back at him, but being a cop meant never showing your belly. Hailey stared him down, and Charles quickly looked away turning his attention back to Kim.

"We learned that the hard way. She took that security guy down so fast and hard that it freaked everyone out. It was so methodical and precise, almost beautiful. It even stopped Dr. Choi in his tracks and he's a trained Navy Man who's seen a little of everything. There was no hesitation at all. I mean you'd think she does it for a living," he said still smiling.

"She does," Hailey said frankly. "She absolutely does it for a living."

Dr. Charles nodded. "Yes, I suppose she does. The staff is reading all about her exploits in the newspaper this morning. I think they were planning on removing the restraints but after reading about her in the newspaper," he laughed. "Absolutely not. They're a little afraid."

That was putting it nicely. Kim had them all freaked out. Then at the worst possible time, the Chicago Sun Times had done a frontpage expose on her. Her biggest hits. Shootouts, car chases, fights, take downs. They dug up everything. Her shooting of a kid who'd tried to kill her partner. Her taking a shotgun blast to the head, neck, chest and face. It was all there, and it was freaking out the staff.

"She'll be fine. She's just going through some rough stuff. And this dirty cop nonsense isn't helping. I mean having the entire city think you're a murderer has got to make you a bit angry." Hailey would be climbing the walls if she were Kim. On a good day she was barely able to keep from punching someone's lights out. But given all Kim's been through, she was surprised freaking out had taken this long.

"Yes, Dr. Halstead filled me in. Relationship loss, loss of personal residence, loss of nearly all her personal possessions, getting accused of a crime, being arrested and spending the night in jail. Getting suspended from work. Then you add to that the possibility of the death and loss of her partner, something more valuable to her than all that other stuff combined." Dr. Charles frowned. "Well something like this was bound to happen."

Hailey wasn't sure what she should say but as a boss she had to think of Kim's welfare. "Any tips?"

Dr. Charles didn't even need to think it over. "Having friends in her life is ideal. And given the number of cops in the waiting room, she's got that covered. As to the other stuff, she needs to be built back up. Like all of us, we lose things, and we replace those things with new things. A new home, new stuff if the old stuff can't be returned. As to work, I'm not sure what's going on." He looked at Hailey with a raised eyebrow. "I know Kim. Not very well but well enough to say with relative certainty that she isn't a murdering psychopath. Whatever this is. It's not good for her. For either of them. People who get into certain professions, Doctors, Police Officers, Fire Fighters. Some of them, most of them in fact, identify themselves with what they do. I'm a doctor. You're a cop. When someone asks you about yourself it's often the first thing you say. Taking that away from her. For some trivial reason. That's not healthy." He looked at a still groggy Kim. "Whatever's going on. It needs to take her feelings into account. Detective Rixton wasn't given medical treatment. How does that even happen? Especially knowing he's been attacked?"

Hailey had been wondering the same thing all night. That should have been the first thing that happened, regardless if he was a cop or not. That was a liability issue, CYA 101.

"Kenny," Kim whispered weakly from the bed. Hailey quickly abandoned all other thoughts.

"Hey Kim. Kenny's in another room." Hailey knew Rixton was going to be her first concern.

"He's alive," she whispered. "He's okay?"

Hailey nodded. "Yes. He's alive. You saved him. The doctors said if you hadn't brought him in, he would have died. He has two broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung." Kim had saved his life. That much everyone was talking about. It was par for the course for partners, but usually guns and bullets were involved

Kim looked at Hailey then down at her restrained wrists. "What's going on, am I arrested again?" Hailey would have laughed if she didn't know that Kim was entirely serious. Nat had suggested that Kim likely wouldn't remember what happened. Attacking the guard would be erased from her memory in such a manic state.

"You caused a bit of a ruckus last night. You were tired, and worried about Kenny, and you sort of freaked out and beat someone up." It was the nicest way to explain things. Beating around the bush wasn't going to do anyone any good. Still, Kim took the news hard. Hailey saw the sadness in her eyes immediately.

Charles stepped in right away with his shrink talk. "Hey, it's totally fine. Bruce is a big guy, a tough guy. He'll be fine. The more important question is how are YOU doing? How are YOU feeling?" He looked at Hailey. "Sergeant Upton would you mind if we had a minute or two to talk. You can go get an update on Detective Rixton, give Kim the most up to date information we have." Hailey saw the eagerness in Kim's eyes. This was something she absolutely wanted. The shrink may have been sneaky, but Dr. Charles knew what he was doing.

"Yeah, I'll go get an update. You hang tight. Don't go anywhere." Kim wrestled her wrists playfully in the restraints.

* * *

The FBI had balls; Jay couldn't dispute that. They walked into the hospital as if they hadn't caused this entire problem. Jay didn't recognize the agents, but by the looks on their faces they didn't want to be here. The cops in the room didn't offer much in the way of welcome but the room drew to a quiet dullness. Jay glared, gathering his thoughts.

The security guard Kim had taken down was doing his best to not look like a chump. Jay could tell he was embarrassed and nobody, not even the bosses knew how to deal with him. If he wanted to press charges against Kim, he could. Not much would come of it, but it would give Kim a big headache. Seeing the bosses doing nothing, Jay decided to protect his people. What would Voight do? Voight would quash it, quickly and to everyone's satisfaction.

Bruce was standing across the room with the other security personnel and Jay decided that Hank wouldn't wait. He probably would have done this hours ago. He cleared his head and walked over. He had only met Bruce a few times, and until today hadn't even known his name. Now he'd never forget it.

"Bruce," he said extending a hand. The already quiet room seemed to get even quieter. Jay could see the group of white shirts in the corner watching with interest but forced himself forward anyway. Bruce shook his hand and stiffened up a little. Security guards were on the low end of the law enforce spectrum, but Jay had always treated the guards at Chicago Med with the utmost respect. On a bad day they dealt with the same thing he did out on the street, and they didn't have guns.

"Look, man. I don't know what to say about this. You know Burgess, she would never do anything like this under normal circumstances. She has a lot going on these past few days. That being said, it's no excuse for what she did to you and you're well within your rights to walk it down the line. I'll write it up myself if you want." He gave the comment a second to hang in the air, doing his best to gauge Bruce's response. The guy didn't look that interested in pressing it, but he wasn't exactly ready to let it go either.

"How about we settle this in house. My brother Will is a doctor here. If you need some medical treatment, he'll see that you get a referral to a good doctor. The best doctor, and whatever that runs you cost wise, you send that over to me and I'll take care of it. And if you ever need anything from me, you give me a call. Who doesn't need a friend in the PD right?"

Bruce shifted uncomfortably and Jay knew he had the guy. "Actually, there is something you can do." Bruce shoved both hands in his pockets nervously. "The PD just opened up testing. My niece applied. Can you talk to someone, get her in?"

Jay didn't smile. Couldn't smile. But it was Chicago. He expected nothing less. "If she's qualified, I'll make some calls, jump her to the top of the list. I can do that. But she's going to have to pass the physical, the psych profile, make it through the academy. All on her own, no pulling of strings. I can get her the slot, but she has to do the work. She has to earn her badge like every other cop in the city. I'm not pulling any strings on that end. I'm serious about that Bruce. If she makes it through all that, with a badge that she EARNED, I'll see she lands okay."

Bruce nodded quickly, extending a hand. Jay shook it again. "Of course. She'll do the work. She's hard working, and smart. She made it through college, Western Illinois. Even made it through law school at Loyola. She's used to hard work."

Jay was impressed. "A lawyer? And she wants to be a cop? Well she'd be an asset. Give her information to my guys and we'll get her jumped up the list. I can get her into the General Counsel's Office if there's a slot open. Do you know if she passed the bar exam?" Bruce nodded. "Yeah, okay. Give her information to Ruzek. He'll see that I get it." Across the room Ruzek gave Bruce a nod and the man walked off. Across the room, Deputy Chief James gave him a nod and motioned for Jay to call him with the name and he'd take care of it.

DC James motioned towards Jay with his thumb, nodding his head to the other bosses in the corner. Jay suspected the guy was bragging on his protégé. Voight was his REAL mentor, but DC James wasn't the sort of guy you wanted as an enemy. Jay and Hailey did his bidding, when reasonable, and did their best to stay out of his way and keep in his good graces.

Having witnessed reasonable Jay Halstead settle a dispute that not even they could claim was improper, the waiting FBI agents decided now was the time to make nice. They started to walk in his direction. Unfortunately, it was at the exact moment Hailey entered the room. She glared at them, which stopped them in their tracks, and made her way over to him.

Hailey gave his arm a pat as she stood next to him. "Burgess is awake. She's talking with the shrink. Probably about her feelings. And how she hates her mom. And how her dreams affect her waking life. Bunch of nonsense."

Jay laughed. "She hear what she did to Bruce?" Hailey nodded. "Good. I just dealt with Bruce myself. His niece wants into the PD. I told him I'd make it happen."

Hailey frowned. "She should earn that badge like the rest of us Jay."

Jay rolled his eyes. He could see half the faces in the room smile. "I knew you'd say that, I swear to God. So that's exactly what I told him. She has to earn it. And if she does. I'll see she lands okay." His eyes rounded. "Hey, get this, she's a lawyer. Went to Loyola. Still wants to be a cop though."

Hailey shrugged. "Sucker," she teased. "The PD could use a few good lawyers. Especially ones who've actually rode around in a squad. Maybe, General Counsel's Office?"

Jay nodded. "That was my thought." He smiled slyly in her direction then motioned towards the FBI agents. The FBI guys wanted to deal with him but had backed off when they saw Hailey. He decided not to let them off easy. "These guys want to talk, been lingering. Want to deal with it?" Hailey smiled, then quickly wiped it away. He watched her face go blank, then saw her eyes sharpen. In the distance DC James stifled a smile and nudged another white shirt playfully.

Hailey spun on her heels and turned to the FBI agents. "What the FUCK are you guys doing here? Come to smother my guy with a pillow, make sure he's dead?" Jay could only force himself not to laugh.

* * *

Dr. Charles spent a lot of time talking about her feelings and Kim almost didn't understand why. Almost. He told her that being strong was great for a while, but eventually holding things inside stopped working and suggested that she should start dealing with her problems rather than holding them inside. He said a good first step was talking about her fear involving Detective Rixton. She almost laughed. What's to talk about she asked? Dr. Charles only shrugged.

Now, facing him lying in bed with wires hanging off him, and a tube in his chest, she understood. And she cried. She realized in that moment what Dr. Charles meant when he suggested she deal with things. She was afraid of losing him. Terrified in fact. Losing him as a partner was one thing, she wouldn't get to work with him every day, but she could still see him every day if she wanted. Talk to him on the phone, text him, have lunch, dinner. But losing him in life was another. Gone was gone. Dead was gone forever, everywhere. No more talking to him, laughing with him. No more Kenny. The idea of that terrified her, and that must have caused her to freak out.

Kim wasn't sure how long she cried, standing in his doorway, afraid to go inside. Watching the monitors beep and hum. She stood there, thinking about Dr. Charles words. 'I know you're afraid Kim, but what are you really afraid of? Really?'

She pondered that question until she heard her name being called, then felt arms wrap around her, pulling her tight. "It's alright for you to go in honey. He's been asking for you."

Kim had only met Kenny's mom twice. Vivian Rixton wasn't what you expected a mom to be. She was pretty, or beautiful was a more accurate word. She wasn't your typical mom, with glasses and respectable clothes. She dressed in tight dresses and wore too much makeup and had uncomfortable heels. She didn't look like a mother. Not at all. She didn't talk about her age, but Kim suspected late forties. Rix had said once that his parents married young because his mom got pregnant. Kim hadn't asked how young, but she suspected young. Mom wasn't fifty and son was early thirties. She had to have gotten pregnant extremely young, Kim suspected fifteen or sixteen.

Despite her inappropriate look, she was a pretty good mom. She called him a lot and complained when he didn't call her back. She wanted him to come over for dinner and wondered about a daughter in law and grandchildren. Kim remembered Rix saying that she'd cried when she read in the newspaper that he was a dirty cop.

"Hi Mrs. Rixton," Kim said turning to offer the woman a hug. She was wearing a black track suit and white sneakers. Not quite a mom outfit, but at least there was no cleavage.

"Vivian," she said giving Kim a squeeze and pulling away. "Call me Vivian."

"It's not true, Vivian. What they're saying about us being criminals." Kim wanted to be honest, but she knew telling Rix's mom the truth wasn't going to go over well with the FBI. But she couldn't let her partner's mother think he was a criminal.

Turns out Vivian didn't need to be told. "Oh, I know. Your boss, that sweet Sergeant Upton, she came by the house and told me yesterday. She couldn't tell me the details, but she told me that it was all some big case you're working on. Some FBI thing."

Kim loved Hailey sometimes. She may have been cold, and distant, and bitchy. But she was also the only person Kim knew who would drive to Rix's mother's house and personally explain that her son was a good cop. Most bosses would help Rix but thinking to explain to his family that he was exactly who they thought he was, most wouldn't do that.

"Yeah, it's pretty big. Although this whole Kenny getting hurt thing wasn't supposed to happen." Kim still lingered in the doorway before Vivian pulled her inside.

"Come on in, have a seat. He wants to see you. And now that I know you're here I can head home for a second to change. The last thing he needs is me hanging around the hospital in sweatpants embarrassing him." Vivian seemed to genuinely believe that, and Kim didn't have the heart to tell her that the he'd be thrilled she was in sweatpants rather than one of her body hugging dresses with tons of exposed cleavage.

"I'll take care of him," Kim admitted.

Vivian wrapped her in another hug. "I know you will. Thank you by the way, for saving his life. For being with him when he needed someone. He's always so proud. Stubborn, just like his father. I can never get him to do anything. You're the only one he ever listens to. I saw him eating a salad a few weeks back and he said you told him to eat better. I've been trying to get him to take better care of himself for years. One word from you and he's eating salads and working out."

Kim smiled politely. Normally she'd be telling someone to mind their own business. But Rix's mother wasn't just someone. She had the right to ask whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She'd carried Rix in her body for nine months. She got special privileges.

"You know how he is. Always trying to tell you he's fine. He was doing that last night. Telling me he's fine. I barely got him to go to sleep and then he started wheezing, having trouble breathing. He didn't want me to call anyone, but I didn't know what to do. I know he's probably mad."

Vivian looked at her strangely, then grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Sweetheart he's not mad at you. He's happy you were there. He said he was being stupid but thank God you were there to make sure he didn't kill himself. If anything, he's embarrassed. I told him that he needs to listen to you more from now on. He nodded. Which is his way of saying okay without actually being forced to say it."

"I just want to see him well Vivian. I don't have many people I can rely on. I mean the people we work with are okay. We're pretty close. But Kenny and I are different. He's my rock." Kim wasn't sure when it happened, but Kenny Rixton had become her best friend. He was probably even more than that. There was nothing she couldn't share with him, and absolutely nothing she wouldn't do for him.

Vivian leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "I know. He feels the same way. Right now, just sit yourself down and relax. I'll be back in a bit. I told the nurses that you're their gal until I get back. You have my full confidence."

"Thanks Vivian. I'll call you if anything happens."

* * *

Hailey snuggled up close to Jay, ignoring the half dozen faces in the room. At times like this people needed comfort. Comfort and love. Being close to Jay always made her feel better, and if that meant ignoring everyone else in the room then so be it. It wasn't like the rank and file didn't know about the two of them anyway.

"Long day," Jay said looking at his watch. It was almost six pm. "We need to get home, get some sleep. Kim is awake and alert. Kenny's mother is on the job. We put out our fires. Time to go home for a bit."

Hailey wanted to refuse, but she knew Jay was right. Sitting around here all day wasn't doing Kenny any good. And she had to be a boss, remind the troops that life did go on. The entire team had stuck around along with one of the white shirts. Now that he was stable the room had been emptying out slowly with cops fading into the background and taking off. They needed the okay to leave, an acknowledgment that it was okay to go home and not feel bad about it.

She rose to her feet and gave the room a look, but mostly focusing on her unit. "Guys, Jay and I are going to take off and get some sleep. You guys should do the same. If you decide to stay, don't stay too long. It's been a long day. So, get some rest, and we'll meet back up at the unit tomorrow."

It didn't take long for the various cops to start standing, shaking hands, passing out hugs, and saying their goodbyes. She was right, they were taking their cues from them. Jay said a few goodbyes while she did the same. After a few minutes they were in the car and heading home.

She climbed into bed with the sun still in the sky. Jay climbed in behind her and snuggled up close. "Kenny should be fine. They're taking the tube out of his chest soon. He's going to be in the hospital for a while, but he'll be okay."

Jay squeezed her body gently. "I can't believe they didn't have him checked out. He's going to sue the pants off the PD, the FBI and anyone else involved in the whole thing. It's gonna be a bloodbath."

Hailey couldn't say she blamed him. This entire operation was a disaster. Start to finish. She couldn't image going through what they've gone through. Her mind drifted back to her conversation with Dr. Charles. They needed to be rebuilt. Kim had lost everything. Her job, her possessions. Her reputation. Even her sense of identity. It all had been stripped away, and faced with losing Rixton too, she cracked.

"We need to get proactive about helping them. We tried to let them deal with it on their own, but its too much. That Dr. Charles pointed out to me that nearly everything they hold important is gone. All they have left is their personal relationships. We need to give them more to hold on to. That way the rest of this nonsense won't seem so overwhelming. I need to find them a place to live. Make sure they know their job will be waiting for them when they get back. Maybe get the FBI to give Kim some furniture. They probably have warehouses full of furniture waiting to be sold. They can give Kim a few sofas and TV's."

Jay was onboard. "You should talk to them about it. Couldn't hurt," he said with a yawn. "Couldn't hurt at all."

* * *

In the right context anybody can look like an asshole, Kim Burgess learned that the hard way when she read about herself in the newspaper. Every sticky situation she'd ever been in was laid out for the city to bare witness to. Every time she fired her weapon, every complaint, seemingly every cross word ever spoken about her. Most cops went an entire career without having to fire their weapon in the line of duty. Kim had done so dozens of times, she'd been mixed up in lots of shootings, she'd been accused of shooting an innocent kid once, had fights with suspects, she even killed a guy once by stabbing him in the neck. It was all in the newspaper, every single bit of it. By the time she finished reading it even she began to wonder if she were a menace.

"Stop reading that trash, it's two weeks old," Rix said from his bed. After nearly dying, Rix spent a little over a week in the hospital before being released back into the world. Physically he was less than one hundred percent, but emotionally he was doing much better. He was laughing, making jokes, and was even sitting through a Housewives marathon with her without complaining. Although he was technically confined to bed and didn't have many options.

"Its weird reading about yourself in the newspaper. You'd think I was some murdering lunatic if you read this." The entire city had turned on her since the arrest. Rix may have taken the physical beating, but she was taking the psychological beating. The press had been hitting her hard these past few weeks and everyone was calling for her head.

Rix hadn't fared much better in the news, but he had been suspected of being dirty once before, so none of this was new to him. In fact, this seemed par for the course for him. His advice for them was simple, lay low and don't follow the news. Kim agreed this was good advice given the state of things, although it was hard to ignore a newspaper when your face was on the front page, even if it was over a week old. And staying put was easy enough, technically they were on administrative leave, so she didn't have anyplace to be anyway.

With Rix in the hospital, Kim had been worried about her living situation, but Hailey insisted she'd take care of it. Whatever the boss had done seemed to work out. The PD was suddenly on the ball. Her and Rix had been granted access to a department safe house to deal with their living situation free of charge. There were even two uniform cops on site for security, but they spent most of their time watching TV. They were brought food, meds for Rixton's ribs and lungs, and Atwater had even brought a case of beer. As far as the PD was concerned, they were just two cops who needed to lay low for a while. They were tucked quietly in a safehouse with the PD's full blessing. And nobody even blinked when Kim moved her bed into Rixton's room. The boss said she'd take care of them and she had, not that Kim ever doubted her.

"Its just some hack writer. No cop in the city thinks you're dirty. In fact, half the city probably knows this is a sham by now. Reporters included." The cops seemed to know at least. Despite being accused of disgracing the badge, no cop in the city seemed to be against them. Rix was confident things would blow over, but HE wasn't the one the press was calling Dirty Harriet.

"Maybe," she said but not really believing it. The media had also reported that she and Amanda Johnson had allegedly carried on an illegal and illicit romantic relationship before she got murdered. Now, half the city didn't just think she was a murdering psycho, but a murdering psycho lesbian.

"I checked my bank account online. Direct deposit came through. Big fat pay raise." Rix had been thinking about money all week. Hailey had popped in earlier in the week and gave them a heads up that they were being promoted. They were both given merit-based promotions and were Sergeants now. Although it wasn't official until they were reinstated, the paperwork had seemingly already been pushed through, and the raise had already taken effect.

"Nice," Kim said with a nod. She felt weird about getting a promotion without earning it, but Rix reminded her they HAD earned it. She'd had her entire life stolen, gone to jail, and was being labeled a murderer in the press. He'd been tossed in jail with gang members who wanted to kill him, and nearly had. He had absolutely no problem with the promotion.

Money would seemingly never be an issue again either. Voight's lawyer friend, Dennis Miller, not the actor, had already served the FBI with lawsuit papers. He was asking for eight figures but assumed they'd settle for mid to low seven after a few months of haggling. He'd been wrong. The government, ready to keep this inept behavior quiet, agreed in principle to the sum, adding a nondisclosure agreement and combining all future possible lawsuits into this one case. Kim wasn't sure what it meant, but Miller said it was a great deal. Apparently, she and Rix couldn't sue each agency separately if they took the money. Miller assured them they'd probably win if they did, but it would take forever. As for the money, the government was confiscating millions from drug dealers. Their payout was a drop in the bucket. If they took it off the top of the drug accounts it wouldn't cost them anything at all.

Kim had never cared much about money. Yes, it was important, but it also didn't magically solve all your problems. In fact, she hadn't even gotten any money yet and it was already becoming a pain in the ass. Miller was talking about trusts and wills and estates and tax liability. Kim was planning on taking great care of her niece but besides that the whole thing was a headache.

"The PD is worried we're gonna sue them too," Rix said. He had been furious with the department at first, but he was a cop to the bone and after they stepped up with the promotions, the safe house, and the uniform officers, his anger quickly died down. They told Upton and Halstead quickly that they weren't going to sue but the bosses didn't seem to be excited about that. Rix suggested they use it to their advantage, say they talked them out of it. Upton flatly refused to do it, she said she wasn't going to use their misfortune to enrich herself. Rix hadn't argued and when Hailey left, he admitted to Kim how much he liked the boss.

"We SHOULD sue, this was all THEIR fault in the first place." Rix was being forgiving but Kim wasn't quite as diplomatic. If they'd screw them over once they'd surely do it again. Still, best not to make enemies.

"What's next?" Rix asked her, ignoring her comment. Apparently suing the feds was enough for him.

"New Jersey, I think," she answered quickly. This marathon had been on for hours. She loved it, rich people with rich people problems. The thought of that being her crossed her mind and she stifled a laugh.

"No, with us," he said. "I'm gonna keep working. I'm not sure if they'll let me stay in Intelligence though. Two Sergeants is okay, but three? I don't know."

Kim eyed him; her brow scrunched. "What happened to me? Where am I going?"

"So, you're with me?"

She nodded, "of course I am."

* * *

The uniform officers were changing shifts when Detective McNeal and Officer Gates stepped inside. They were far from their district so McNeal, a 22-year veteran cop, didn't know any of these patrolmen.

"How they doing?" One of the incoming cops asked the others. The two outgoing cops were both short and stocky, one was Hispanic with a US Marine style haircut, the other Caucasian with a neat professional cut that from what McNeal could tell, was done at a salon instead of a barber shop.

"Good," the Marine answered matter of fact. "Upstairs watching TV as usual."

Haircut smiled, leaned into the newbies, a short attractive blonde woman and a heavy African American man, and started to gossip. "They DID take a shower. Together." He said the words with an enthusiasm that annoyed McNeal. Marine haircut hid a frown, he didn't approve of his partner's decision to gossip but wouldn't say so in front of anyone. The newbies looked at him nervously, aware their comrade hadn't seen them come in. They clearly weren't interested in having any problems with Sergeant Upton.

"Well, we got it from here," the pretty blonde officer said, not hiding her nervousness.

"She's a looker that Burgess. And tough. I didn't know she was such an ass kicker. She can shower with me any day."

Marine cut shook his head. "Guy's got busted ribs, can barely stand up. She's just taking care of him. He can't do it alone. Let's not gossip Thompson."

Thompson nodded diplomatically as if he was coming to his senses, but quickly proved otherwise. "I'm just saying, it's a little weird, showering together."

McNeal's stomach turned, and beside him, Gates had heard enough. "Hey guys. We don't do that in our unit. Gossip about each other. We've all got stuff going on and we help each other through it, it doesn't matter what it is. If I don't have anyone else in the world, I got my partner. If he needs me to help him take a shower, wipe his ass, whatever, its my job. I'm gonna suck it up and do it. Period. What we DON'T need is people gossiping about it behind our backs."

Thompson, finally gaining some situational awareness, turned around. McNeal could see the others grimace with discomfort. When he turned and saw the two members of the Intelligence Unit, his face went white, then turned red.

"Uh, hey," he stammered. "I didn't mean anything by that. I was just talking, having some fun."

Gates nodded, unconvinced. Instead of piling on she said, "Its fine."

McNeal knew that wasn't true. One thing he loved about being in this unit was it was about the work. Other cops had always shied away from him when they found out he was a homosexual. The cops in Intelligence didn't care. He knew they'd surely heard the rumors, everyone had. But they'd never made him feel unwelcome. In fact, Sergeant Upton told him flat out that his personal business was his to share or not share as he saw fit. If someone was getting too mouthy about it, he was well within his rights to get in their face and set them straight. He appreciated that, but it hadn't been a problem. Things were different here. The bosses were a couple, Burgess and Ruzek used to be engaged. Halstead used to live with another member of the squad. Upton used to date Ruzek. It should have been a mess, but it wasn't, it worked. And everyone in the unit realized it was special and they protected it. Even Gates, the newbie.

McNeal decided to back her play. "Yeah, how about all of us mind our own fucking business. If Burgess gets wind of this, she'll come down here and kick all our asses. And regardless of how small she is, she can probably take us."

Thompson nodded quickly and disappeared out the front door. The pretty blonde watched him run off like a coward, her jaw half open. After a few seconds she shut her mouth and dug a police issue business card out of her pocket.

"Hey," she said without any hint of nervousness, impressing him a little. "I'm Officer Nichols. If you guys ever need anything. Info, backup. Give me a call."

McNeal took her card and gave it a quick inspection. He wouldn't forget her but stuck the card in his pocket anyway. Then offered a hand which she readily took. Gates followed suit.

"I'm McNeal, this is my partner Gates. Intelligence unit."

"Nice to meet you," Gates said genuinely. She didn't warm up quickly, but she was always polite. She offered Nichols' partner and Marine haircut a polite nod but didn't shake their hands. McNeal didn't either out of solidarity. Always back your partner's play.

* * *

Hailey had never envisioned owning a place. Let alone decorating said place with nick knacks. She figured she absolutely needed her painting, the rose in the vase on the empty table, a gift from Jay, but nothing else. She was wrong. She needed curtains and a table, and a bedspread that was theirs, not just hers. All her things needed to be replaced.

She had never been big on stuff, it never much mattered what sort of sofa she had, anyone would do the job. Moving in with Jay, buying a place, had changed that. Now all she thought about was stuff. But she assumed her thoughts weren't exactly typical. Their place needed stuff, and every TV show and movie she'd ever seen told her filling the house with that stuff was HER job. So, she obsessed over magazines and online catalogs, how would this sofa look in the living room, what color should this Nick knack be? That nick knack? Eventually she'd just called Kim and went to IKEA. They already had stuff picked out and decorated. She just picked what she liked best and bought it all.

Jay didn't care about the stuff. Even now he probably couldn't tell you what color anything was, Navy blue, cobalt blue, regular blue. He couldn't care less. He had a comfy sofa, a big TV and a fridge full of beer. He was a happy man.

Things were good between them, quiet even. After a few months of dating and spending every night together, it only made sense to move in together. This of course was officially Jay's idea, according to Hailey's mother women didn't bring that sort of thing up, guys didn't like being pressured. So, when he brought it up, she pretended to think about it for a few minutes, refusing to scream, of course, at the top of her lungs like a weirdo, then asked a bunch of practical questions about the arrangement before agreeing.

She expected they'd rent another apartment. Someplace they picked out together. Instead Jay shocked her by talking about mortgages. He wanted to buy a place. Buying a place meant permanence, it meant stability, it meant he planned on them being together for the next 360 months.

She suspected he would propose soon. It was the logical next step. Getting married. She knew he wanted to get married, he talked about it occasionally and he had almost proposed to Erin. She'd run off before he had the chance, leaving him and Chicago for New York. That would surely make him cautious about proposing again. Hailey promised herself they'd do things on his timetable. That had been working out well so far.

The return of Erin Lindsay was going to throw a wrench into that plan. She and Hailey would never be confused for friends, but she and Jay were friendly these days. She'd call him, text, and now she was moving back to Chicago and she would surely want to see him occasionally, drinks at Molly's, lunch, that sort of thing. Hailey didn't want to be the kind of woman who worried, but she was worried. She didn't seem to be the old Erin. This Erin openly expressed her feelings, talked about her problems like a grownup, and faced things head on instead of running away. Therapy had helped to improve her she claimed. Hailey wanted to puke.

"I don't know about this breakfast with Erin. Why does she want to have breakfast again?" Hailey found the whole thing especially suspicious. Erin wanted to grab a bite, with both of them? Yeah, right. She was surely expecting Hailey to refuse so she could have Jay to herself. That would never happen though. Hailey would sit through a hundred awkward meals with her if it meant keeping her hooks off Jay.

Jay didn't seem to grasp the implications of it all. But he was that way sometimes, he didn't seem to pick up on women's agendas. Unless it was police work, he never saw the angles.

"I'm not sure. She said to catch up. I'll cancel if you want though." Jay may not have understood the implications, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't going if Hailey wasn't going. He didn't realize Erin was up to something, but he wasn't taking any chances either way.

"No, it's okay. We can go. It was nice of her to offer." The sneaky bitch.

Jay looked at her, not sure what to say, if anything. He finally decided on a shrug and simple okay.

"I'm gonna go take a bath."

That seemed to get his attention. "You sure you don't want to cancel. We can find a reason. Make up a case or something." One of bad things about sharing your life with someone was they knew your tricks. Jay knew she only took baths when she was nervous. The only thing she could be nervous about was Erin.

"No, we're good." She was being brave, but she really wanted to cancel. She couldn't give Erin the satisfaction though.

"Want me to join you in that bath then, we have that big bathtub now?"

Sometimes she loved him so much. So much it hurt. She couldn't imagine losing him to Erin, or anyone, or anything, else.

"My momma didn't raise no fool. Get naked Ranger." Who was she to turn down some naked fun? Jay rose to his feet, shutting off his ballgame, something he rarely did. Sometimes it hurt.

* * *

Rix made it down the steps on his own. He was getting around much better now, but Kim wasn't sure how she felt about it. It was great that he was feeling better, stronger. But she also liked looking after him, taking care of him.

She let him struggle around a bit, giving him some confidence, but eventually helped him to his seat.

Two uniformed officers were sitting in the front room, a blonde woman and a black male. Rix addressed them both by name, officers Nichols and Anthony. Kim said hello politely then asked if they wanted coffee. She wasn't sure if they were coming or going but given their refusal she guessed going.

"Hungry Kenny?" He hadn't been eating much lately but last night he seemed to have his appetite back, he was getting back to his old self.

"I'm starving but don't go through any trouble. Ruzek brought cereal."

Kim nodded, of course he did. Adam ate cereal morning noon and night. He couldn't work his stove if his life depended on it. The most he'd ever cooked was store pizza.

"I'll make you some eggs." Rix didn't object, he knew the case was closed. That's what she liked about him. He didn't want to hassle her. The other men in her life were all hassle. Jeff, and even Adam, would have asked for eggs and complained about cereal. She loved them both, but they were part of her problem. Adam would always hold a place in her heart, but she had to let him go. He wanted love and adoration without the commitment. She realized she needed more and said goodbye. She found Jeff soon after but that had been even worse in hindsight. Adam never would have thrown her out on the street.

Rix nodded, and Kim shifted her attention to the other two cops. "How about it guys. Hungry?"

Nichols said no, but her partner Anthony said yes. He was round in the waist and Kim assumed him being hungry wasn't anything new. Since she was already going through the trouble, she nodded an okay and disappeared into the kitchen.

After a few minutes the pretty blonde officer entered and said a polite hello. Kim nodded to her and to avoid an awkward silence started small talk. "So, Nichols, how long you been a cop?"

Nichols was a bit on the small side, and pretty, but Kim could see a toughness in her. She hadn't seen the young cop in action, but she could always tell tough cops by looking at them. Olinsky had schooled her on that.

"Three years in patrol. I'm looking at taking the detectives exam next time it's up. I wouldn't mind getting into a good unit. Robbery/Homicide, or Intelligence maybe."

Kim smiled, the girl was sure shooting for the moon. She'd chosen to chase two of the most elite units in the PD.

"Good for you. Do good work and see how it lands. Don't be discouraged if it doesn't happen right away though. It took years before Voight brought me up. And I had to prove myself every single day."

Nichols seemed surprised to hear that. "Even with your record?"

Kim remembered the newspaper, all her exploits laid out for the world to see. Seeing it all laid out, she had to admit, her record was impressive. She'd been through quite a bit of drama, closed some huge cases, been awarded several commendations for valor. A cop like Nichols would absolutely be impressed.

"Yeah, even with my record. Sergeant Voight was a real hard ass, but he'd do anything for you. Halstead and Upton are the same way. They hold you to it, but they've got your back."

Nichols seemed to agree. "I heard she got into the FBI's face when your partner was in the hospital. She seems like the real deal."

Kim nodded, finishing up the scrambled eggs she was working on. She and Nichols talked some more, mostly about her district, with the young cop asking questions about the best way to deal with a partner who didn't want action under any circumstances. According to Nichols her partner Anthony only signed them up for this assignment because of the overtime and the fact that it required very little actual work. She agreed because it allowed her to hob knob with one of the city's most elite units.

Kim offered the best advice she could, making a point to ask personal questions and being specific rather than generic. That she knew, made people feel like you cared.

When she made her way into the front room, Rix and Anthony were talking sports, but both perked up when they saw her. Rix took his food eagerly and devoured his scrambled eggs. Anthony did the same, but Kim ignored him.

"Got your appetite back," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, I realized I'm starving. I think all that liquid food at the hospital was designed to deliberately shrink your stomach. I always wondered why everyone was so damn skinny."

She smiled, "You could stand to lose a few pounds," she teased. The last time he'd had his shirt off she noticed how toned his stomach was. Six pack abs. He was in great shape and he knew it.

He scoffed at her comment. "You're crazy. I already follow the diet you put me on. Between you and my mom, I'll live until I'm 150."

Kim nodded. "You're in great shape. Speaking of your mom, she wants us to come over for dinner."

Rix looked over at Anthony who was seemingly too focused on his breakfast to hear what they were saying. Rix didn't care, he spoke to him anyway.

"My mom is convinced we're a couple. At the hospital whenever the doctors asked her a question, she made a point of consulting with Kim first."

Kim laughed and looked over to Nichols. "Of course she consulted me. I'm the one taking care of him. What was she gonna do, make all these decisions alone then pawn him off on me?"

Rix snickered. "Sounds like her." He took a few more bites then looked up at her suddenly serious. "We got a call to go downtown later today. Talk to the bosses. Feel like getting out of the house?"

She hadn't left the house in days but hadn't thought about it until now. She liked being in the house with him, camping in. It was nice, so nice she dreaded leaving. Who knew what the bosses wanted? Knowing them they just wanted to cause more trouble.

"Yeah, I can use some fresh air. Plus, I have to go. It's not like you're allowed to drive."

Rix snickered again. "What are they gonna do arrest me again?"

* * *

Erin gave Hailey another hug and Jay waited for Hailey to pull away and deck her. She didn't like stuff like that, gratuitous kisses and hugs, especially not from Erin. She was being a good sport today, but she wasn't perfect. Eventually it would become too much for her and she'd flip out. Today wasn't that day though, today she smiled.

"Special Agent Lindsay," she said forcing a phony smile. She slid into a booth and Jay followed her in. She brushed her leg against his under the table.

Erin sat across from them and smiled, a bit too widely, then looked around for the waitress. Ruby, who had been watching with interest, came right over with a pot of coffee.

She poured Hailey a cup then looked at Jay. "Morning you two. I thought you guys were mad at us or something. Haven't seen you in forever."

Hailey frowned. She used to eat at this place a couple times a week. So often Ruby the waitress knew her order by heart. Hailey talked about making her way back down, but life always got in the way. "Yeah, we moved to Wicker Park. Bought a place in Bucktown. This is way out of the way now Ruby."

Ruby seemed disappointed, but over the years she surely had grown used to things like this. Seeing someone everyday, then one day they're gone forever.

"Well it's good to see you're alive at least. I was worried about you when I saw that friend of yours on TV. The guy with the leather jacket. He got himself mixed up in some trouble, didn't he?" Voight. Jay didn't know what trouble she was referring to; it could have been any one of a dozen things. Still, he was impressed, she saw the guy once, over a year ago and she still remembers him. She should have been a cop.

"Yeah, that's our old boss, Hank Voight. He's her father. This is Erin. Special Agent Erin Lindsay of the FBI." He motioned at Lindsay with his head. "Erin this is, Ruby. Best waitress in Chicago. Although her real name isn't Ruby, its Marla.

Erin waved politely but Ruby didn't bother responding. "Coffee hun?"

Ruby wasn't a fan. She must have picked up on Hailey's dislike of her. Erin didn't seem to pick up on anything amiss though. "Yes. Coffee is great."

Ruby poured her a cup then looked at Jay. "How about it handsome?"

Jay nodded and took a cup of coffee added some cream and sugar and sipped it as Ruby excused herself to check on other tables but promised to be back in two shakes to take their orders.

"So," Hailey said giving Erin her best fake smile. "You're back in the city to stay huh?"

Erin nodded eagerly. "Yeah, and it's weird. I mean in New York they're all about rules and procedures. Here, not so much. And I've been running around all week trying to find a place. I wish I hadn't sold my old place. Hank suggested I rent it out. He knew I'd be back."

Jay didn't want to talk about the past. Especially not her old place. The place she emptied out when she skipped town and left him. "You'll find a place, its a big city."

Erin nodded. "I got a line on a few." She sipped her coffee and looked them both over, then smiled again. Her smile was giving him the creeps. She didn't look like herself. She still had dyed blonde hair, and her eye color had changed, contacts most likely. She wasn't even dressed like herself, Erin was a jeans, t-shirt, and boots gal. Today she was wearing a frilly floral-patterned dress. A far cry from Erin Lindsay and a million miles from career criminal and drug dealer Amanda Johnson.

"How's Kim and Kenny? I tried calling, still can't get them on the phone. Seems like I never can anymore. Kim and I haven't talked much since New Years. She came up to New York and,"

"Ready to order?" Ruby was back. She started scribbling in her pad, looking to Hailey and asking if she wanted the usual. Hailey said a quick yes, not surprised that Ruby still remembered her order after of a veggie omelet after all this time. He ordered a T-bone steak and scrambled eggs with a side of toast. Erin asked about a vegan menu, was denied, then ordered a half a grapefruit which wasn't organic she asked, toast, and bowl of oatmeal. Hailey watched her with restrained annoyance but didn't speak. Jay could tell she was practically bursting at the seams.

Ruby left as fast as she'd came, and Jay decided to cut to the chase. "So, what's this about Erin? Not that it's not always good to see you. I get the feeling you're looking for something. Or trying to say something. What is it?"

Hailey slipped her hand on his thigh and he could tell she approved. Whatever Erin wanted Hailey wanted her to get on with it already. He knew she didn't want to come to this breakfast but wouldn't dare skip it. She didn't say so, but he knew she thought Erin had ulterior motives.

"What do you mean? I just wanted to catch up with you guys. See how things are going. I know the last time I was here I misbehaved, and I wanted to say I'm sorry for that. For all of it. Hailey, I said some not so nice things to you, and about you. I'm sorry." She flashed her creepy smile. "And Jay. I made inappropriate advances towards you when I knew you were with Hailey. That was unacceptable behavior and it will NOT be repeated. That's why I invited you both here. So, Hailey could see I'm entirely on the level."

Jay had known Erin for a long time, but he wasn't sure what this was. Erin was typically a basket case. She wasn't in touch with her feelings, and she didn't really apologize. Not sincerely. Hearing this song and dance made him immediately skeptical, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what she was up to.

"Okay," he said shakily.

"What the hell is wrong with you," Hailey asked. "What are you up to? What do you want?" Hailey was leaning aggressively across the table. She was staring at Erin with unmistakable anger and frustration. Erin wasn't responding. She wasn't angry, or defensive, or anything. She was just sitting there, staring.

After letting the silence hang in the air for an uncomfortable amount of time, Erin finally spoke. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. To make amends. It's part of my program. 12 steps. Make amends for all the things I've done to hurt others."

Jay suddenly felt bad. He was sure this was some sort of trick. Hailey had too. Now he felt like shit learning that this was merely a part of her sobriety. He had been hurt, and angry, but now he was passed it. Long passed it and if apologizing helped her, who was he to complain?

"Erin, if this was something you needed, I understand. And I forgive you. We can move forward without the weight of this past stuff hanging over us."

Beside him Hailey shifted uncomfortably, then quickly blurted out a half-hearted, "Yeah, sure. We're good."

If Jay didn't feel so bad already, he'd have laughed. Erin didn't say anything, just kept smiling. It was really starting to give him the creeps.

* * *

There was a crowd outside CPD Headquarters on Michigan Avenue, and the moment Kim saw the cameras she knew this was an ambush. They'd been set up. The bosses, or someone close to the bosses, had leaked to the media that they were coming. Her heart dropped and she considered telling the squad car to pull away.

"How you wanna play it?" Kenny asked giving the crowd of cameras a careful look. He seemed game for this song and dance today. But he'd almost died, and almost dying surely made dealing with the media trivial.

Kim didn't have a plan, there was no game in mind for this. On a typical day she'd be just as likely to play up the dirty cop angle than say no comment. The case was still going on after all and screaming details into the camera would be frowned upon.

"No comment, sprinkled with a little looking forward to our day in court." That was probably the extent of what they should say she guessed. People always said that, it was almost expected in fact and nobody would complain. It surely didn't torpedo the case or tip the bad guys off about Erin being FBI.

Kenny nodded as the car pulled to a stop. A half dozen cameras swung to aim in their direction and Kim climbed out of the car as nonchalantly as she could. She did her best to focus on her objective, get inside and ignore the cameras in her face. It proved impossible, a dozen reporters began calling her name and shouting out questions, but she didn't bother looking at any of them. Someone from the crowd called out Dirty Harriet, and Kim's stomach turned. She hated that nick name.

Rix took a minute to get out of the car, struggling to pull himself to his feet. He was feeling better, but this was the most moving around he'd done in days. Seeing him struggle pushed all the nonsense out of her mind and she moved around the squad to help him. He wrapped an arm securely around her shoulder and pulled himself to his feet with a grunt.

"You good," she asked him. She knew him, he'd say yes, no matter what the answer, but she could always tell when he was being brave.

"Yeah, I'm good," he said straightening himself up and pulling his arm away. She'd just as soon help him inside but decided not to say anything given the cameras around.

They walked to the building ignoring the cameras and shouted questions. Rix was moving slow, but on his own. Despite her desire to get inside and away from the madness, Kim waited for him, moving at his pace, refusing to leave him behind.

Once they made it inside the tense moment evaporated. A uniformed cop was standing near the metal detector with a wheelchair that Kim knew immediately had to be for Rix. She waved him over and Rix, despite his macho male ego, quickly took a seat. He breathed heavily, seemingly exhausted. She crunched down to meet him at eye level, worried about his damaged lungs and broken ribs.

She stared at him silently, breathing slowly, in then out. After about a minute he nodded at her, signaling his being ready and she pushed the wheelchair towards the security checkpoint.

After a quick brush through security and a speedy elevator ride, they found themselves in the waiting room of the Chief of Detectives, Chief Fred Perkins. Kim had never met Chief Perkins, he was one of those bosses you only saw on TV, a boss so high up the food chain he may as well not even be a real person.

Chief Perkins was a new school cop with old school skills. As a member of Generation X, he had grown up in the age of internet and computers but still had the practical social skills and old fashioned know how people complained Millennials lacked. He was young to be a chief, but Kim knew this was mostly because he put down big cases, made good connections, and passed the right exams at precisely the right time. Promotions were just as much about luck as skill, and Perkins had been very skilled and extremely lucky. If Kim had to guess, he'd be the future Police Superintendent one day.

He didn't keep them waiting long, his assistant ushered them inside in less than five minutes, and Kim pushed Rix into his office then stood at attention and offered a salute. Rule was whenever you went downtown you went in uniform, but Perkins had specifically ordered them not to do so. Rix tried to stand to offer a salute of his own, but Perkins stopped him immediately.

"Sergeant Rixton, please sit down," he said motioning for Rix to keep his seat. He looked at Kim smiled politely, then grabbed a seat of his own.

A silence hung in the air and Kim wondered if she were in trouble. Perkins answered that right away, brushing a hand through his full blonde hair and staring at them with cold blue eyes. He was attractive, but generically so. He'd look great on TV she thought to herself.

"Sergeants let me start off by apologizing. Through all this it occurred to me that nobody from downtown has looked either of you in the eyes and said I'm sorry." He gave them both a glance then leaned comfortably back in his chair. "I can't tell you how embarrassed I am that the two of you were just thrown to the wolves like you were. It was unprofessional and inexcusable. Your lives being put in danger," he shook his head. "Well that's just outrageous."

Kim nodded silently. Beside her Rix shook his head. "If we had known we could have given the CO's a wink and nod, but nobody told us anything."

Perkins wasn't onboard. "It wasn't your job to give them the wink and nod, it was OURS, and you almost paid with your life. This job is dangerous, we know that. But we're prepared for that danger. You two were thrown into the deep end without warning, without training and without backup."

He pulled open his desk drawer and dug out two shiny badges. "These are your new Sergeant's badges. The accompanying raise should be in effect this pay period." He held up the badges but didn't hand them over. "These will be given to your chief who'll pass them along to your unit bosses to be handed over when you're officially off administrative leave."

Kim nodded professionally. Rix followed suit. Neither spoke.

"The real reason I brought you down here is to explain the status quo moving forward. Typically, this promotion comes with a command, a patrol unit to look over. But given your media status, that will be problematic." He looked at Kim, making her self-conscious. "Sergeant Burgess, no cop in the city thinks you're dirty. You've been nothing but an asset to this job and this city. But the public won't stand for you being given control of a unit. And Sergeant Rixton, you've been accused of being corrupt twice already. Again, the public won't stand for it."

Kim could read between the lines; this promotion would be their last. Sergeant was as high as they'd ever go in the CPD. Kim hadn't thought much about rising through the ranks, but suddenly hearing she couldn't, upset her. She held it together as much as she could, and Rix instinctively gave her knee a pat.

"As of now you're continuing on in Intelligence. I hear you're both operating as second in command there anyway. That will be official upon your return. Upton and Halstead will both be given a bump to Lieutenant. Their handling of this mess impressed a lot of people in this office. You'll continue to report to them, and the others will answer to you."

Rix nodded. "Understood." Kim followed suit, echoing his agreement.

Perkins gave them both a suspicious squint. "I heard you've come an agreement in principle with the DOJ."

"Yes, but as we've told our lawyer and Upton and Halstead, we have no interest in suing the PD." Rix said the words fast. Too fast for Kim's liking but she kept quiet. They'd been through this already.

Perkins nodded. "They expressed that. Still, the PD needs to put this behind it. So, this morning the folks in legal are sending a settlement offer to your lawyer. Talk it over and let us know what you think." He rose to his feet and extended his hand, apparently, they were dismissed.

They both shook it and made their way back downstairs. Their ride was waiting out front and Rix decided again to walk to the car under his own power. Kim watched him struggle, keeping close in case he needed help but not offering any. When a reporter came too close to him, nearly bumping him, Kim reprimanded him harshly. The path cleared after that. He made it into the vehicle on his own, but Kim could see it exhausted him.

The ride home was silent and when they made it back to the safe house Kim didn't bother asking him if he needed help. She wrapped an arm around him and helped him inside, then upstairs, then helped him undress and got him in bed. She undressed and climbed in with him, letting the silence hang in the air.

"So much for running my own unit," he said with a sigh. Rix's dream was always to run a unit. He hoped to make rank and go back to being in control of another team like he had back in gangs. He and Kim had even flirted with the idea of going back to gangs if the slot opened back up. Now that was off the table.

"They really fucked us," Kim said. "Do the job, do good work. But they always fuck you in the end."

"They know they did. That's why they're throwing money at us. Knowing the PD, they'll even lowball us."

Kim laughed. "If we complain they'll really fuck us. We gotta just lie back, close our eyes, and think about something nice."

Rix sighed with satisfaction. "This right here is fine with me. Can't think of anyone else I'd rather get fucked with."

Kim laughed. "This is exactly why we both got dumped. Lying in bed together in our underwear. Talking about getting fucked."

Rix gave her side a poke. "I told ya. I still think we should get a place together. With the cash they're throwing at us we can move to the Gold Coast. View of the Lake, doorman, the whole thing."

Kim looked at him suspiciously. "You serious or joking? Because if you're joking," she started to say before he cut her off.

"I'm serious. Me and you. You're the only stable thing in my life and I don't want to lose you. Let's get a place. If you meet someone or I meet someone, we'll figure it out then. But for now, me and you."

It wasn't practical, and surely not smart, or sane, but Kim agreed. She didn't want to live without him. She was the most stable thing in his life, but he was probably all she had. She lost all her other stuff. Dr. Charles words echoed in her head. What are you afraid of Kim? Really?

"Okay, let's get a place." She pulled away the blanket and climbed out of bed. "Your iPad is around here someplace we can look online."

It didn't occur to her that she was in her underwear. She could feel Rix's eyes on her, but she didn't get self conscious. His gaze felt like a warm blanket, wrapping her up tightly and keeping her safe and warm. She didn't mind it one bit


	4. Chapter 3

Kevin Atwater loved family day. Since his brother and sister moved away, leaving him alone in Chicago to fend for himself, he missed having family around. Out of necessity the unit had become his surrogate family. When he needed something it was them he called, on Thanksgiving, it was their tables he sat around. So, when Hailey suggested the unit get together one Sunday every month for breakfast, he was immediately on board.

Everyone was welcome, even those no longer in the Intelligence Unit. Of course Antonio was always a no show, but Voight never missed a gathering. Erin, now that she was back in Chicago, had also been invited, and to Kevin's amazement, she showed up. Patrolman Pete Davis had asked Kevin yesterday if it would be out of line for him to show up, he had been in the unit after all. Kevin had broken the kid's heart when he told him no, that he'd permanently alienated himself from the Unit when he decided to break the cardinal rule of gossiping about his coworkers.

Kevin could still remember the look on Davis' face when Hailey told him it might be beneficial for him to spend some time in patrol. The kid turned bright red and Kevin could swear he was going to cry. Even worse, every cop in the district lost a little respect for the kid. He'd been given an opportunity half the cops in Chicago would have killed for, and he pissed it away. The kid would never live it down, and Kevin would be surprised if he ever got another opportunity that big again. The guys he'd gossiped with were the exact same guys who watched him fall from grace, and as their careers advanced and they moved into positions of power, and towards various units, they'd always remember that his big mouth had gotten him tossed from one of the city's premier units. They'd never fully trust him, and he'd have a hard time finding a home outside of patrol. He shot himself in the foot, and Kevin didn't feel the least bit bad for him. Rixton himself had warned the kid, and he paid him back by talking out of school.

The PD had a long memory, everyone knew that. Some things stuck with you forever. Talking too much, no cop liked that. If you'd gossip, you'd rat. That was the thinking. On the other hand, Kevin knew the thing with Burgess and Rixton was something else. They could be as dirty as the day was long, and a good cop would always call them for help if they were in a jam. A dirty cop was typically a smart cop, too smart to get you in a jackpot. And the important thing was, everyone knew Kim and Kenny weren't dirty. They were just getting screwed by the system. Chewed up and spit out Ruzek had described it.

Despite their recent troubles, they looked to be getting along just fine. Rixton was moving slow, but Burgess was a few steps behind, ready to offer assistance if he needed it. Like the rest of the squad Kevin didn't understand their relationship. He wasn't sure if they were a couple, partners, best friends, or a combination of all that. What he did know was that they had one another's back, one hundred percent of the time. Kevin had watched news footage of Kim yelling at a reporter for nearly bumping into Rixton a few days ago.

Kenny looked pretty banged up and when Kim yelled at the reporter to "Fucking watch it fella", the entire crowd had given them a wide berth.

Their reputations may have gotten dragged but they seemed to land on their feet. Not only had they gotten promotions, but they also got huge settlements from the PD and FBI both. Millions, cops across the city were saying. Kevin couldn't imagine coming into that kind of cash. He loved police work but with a few million dollars he'd be retired and sitting on a beach. Outside of Chicago both Kim and Kenny could blend in, start new lives, no more dodging bullets for a living.

Seeing them show up at the diner for family day should have been a shock, but it wasn't. Kim was all cop. No way would she willingly give it up. And Kenny was a natural cop, being the law came second nature to him and Kevin couldn't see him working any other job. Of course they were here. Where else would they be?

He watched them say their hellos and grab a seat at the table. Kim DID help Kenny sit down then quickly pulled away and grabbed her own seat. She wasn't typically the type of woman to hover but with Rixton in such bad shape she refused to leave his side.

At the head of the table Hailey and Jay were whispering back and forth, laughing and joking. Across the table Lindsay was watching silently and he wondered if things would get tense again. Lindsay still had it bad for Jay, so bad she'd flown Kim all the way to New York for the purpose of milking her for information about Halstead and Upton. Kim hadn't liked that, but she had been a good sport. When Erin showed up in Chicago Kevin understood something else had gone down between them because Kim was avoiding Erin like the plague. As usual though, he minded his own business.

Voight was talking to a few of the rookies, Officers Whitt and Franklin were pumping him for information about police work and despite his usual standoffish demeanor Voight was surprisingly game. The other new unit members were chatting back and forth, laughing and joking amongst themselves.

"Hey space cadet, where'd you go man?" Ruzek asked giving his side a nudge with his elbow.

Kevin laughed. "I'm right here man." There was in fact nowhere else he'd rather be.

* * *

"We're weird," Kim said watching Rix slowly pull off his pants. He'd insisted on doing it himself today, but earlier this morning he'd been so helpless he needed help showering. She knew it was a game, but she didn't argue with him, or call bullshit, she didn't mind helping him. And she'd just as soon help him than let him fall in the shower and almost kill himself. And it wasn't as if showering with him was some big chore either, there were worse ways to spend a morning.

"How so," he said finally pulling a pant leg off with a huff. She unbuttoned her own pants and stepped out of them, leaving them in a ball on the floor. He stared at her momentarily, taking her in. She'd lost most of her clothes when her moving truck had been emptied, so she'd been forced to go shopping for things like jeans, tee-shirts, and underwear. Today she was wearing something cute, black and pink panties with a matching bra that she bought specifically because it was cute and Rix might notice. He pretended not to notice earlier, but she knew he had. He was being weird about noticing her underwear, but he didn't seem too uncomfortable being naked with her in the shower. She was sure he'd taken a peek then.

"We just are. Did you notice how everyone was staring at us today? Like we have two heads. They know we're sleeping in the same bed. I even heard two of the patrol guys downstairs talking about us taking showers together a few days ago. All of a sudden we're turning into Upton and Halstead. Those people everyone talks about behind their backs, but nobody actually ever says anything to." If she were being honest, she would have admitted they already were those people. At least Hailey and Jay had the advantage of being secretive and protective of their relationship from the beginning. In fact, that attitude had shaped one of the major rules of the Intelligence unit, no gossiping.

"We aren't weird, we're close. And even if we were weird, so what. We don't have to explain anything to anybody. Do the bosses explain? No, they tell everyone to mind their own business." He gave his other pants leg a tug, successfully pulling it off. He smiled in satisfaction and looked at her impressed with himself. "And what do people do? They mind their own business."

That was true Kim figured. People did mind their own business. But Hailey had always been a bit bitchy about that sort of thing. "What do you think they'll say when they find out we're getting a place together?" Kim pulled off her shirt next and watched Rix contemplate following suit. With his healing ribs he wasn't even going to try. He opened his mouth to ask for help but she was already walking to his side.

He raised his arms and she gently pulled his shirt over his head. His ribs were still a bit blue, but he was getting his color back. Last night when he slept she researched broken ribs on the internet and realized that he was probably in pain every time he took a breath. The thought of that depressed her and when he woke the next morning, she'd been extra annoying about him taking his pain pills. He didn't argue, and Kim thought about what Vivian had told her. She was the only one he listened to.

"They won't say anything if we don't tell them. Telling them implies it's their business. Which it isn't. Whether you help me shower, or whether we sleep in the bed together, or have sex, or don't. Or buy a place together, or don't. It's none of their damn business."

She chose to ignore that bit about them having sex, tucking it in the back of her mind for a later conversation. "You're right. It's none of their business." She helped him off the edge of the bed and walked with him to his side of the bed. It was barely eleven am but getting up and getting out of the house to have breakfast with the team had taken a lot out of him, and he needed to lie down. These days whenever he climbed into bed, she climbed in with him.

"What's on the agenda TV wise today? Anything good?" They'd been watching lots of Housewives marathons, but Kim decided today was a Netflix day.

"You decide today. We can binge something on Netflix," she told him.

Rix laughed. "Netflix and chill it is then."

She rolled her eyes as she helped him swing his feet into bed. She walked around the bed and climbed in beside him. "You can barely breath. Any Netflix and chilling we do is likely gonna kill you. Believe me."

"If you gotta go," he teased.

She slipped under the blanket, bringing it up comfortably around her chest, then his. Then she handed him the remote control for the TV. "Try and find something to watch and try not to get yourself killed getting me all worked up. If you're lucky I'll maybe hold your hand."

Rix frowned as he brought the TV to life. "What a rip off."

She laughed. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing either." She gave him a look and he was pretending to be focused on the TV.

"What, I'm not doing nothing." He finally landed on a police procedural, eight episodes long. She nodded her approval and he pushed a few buttons. The show began then immediately paused.

"I'm not saying I have a problem with it. In fact, I've been thinking about it too. But your ribs are broken, you can barely walk ten feet without needing a break. No way can you handle anything else right now. But when you're better, less Netflix more chilling, who knows."

She watched him decide this was okay, then something seemed to cross his mind. "Heather and Jeff constantly accused us of showering together. What would they think if they found out that we are doing that now?"

She had thought about that a lot, what Jeff would think about her life these days. "They would be self-satisfied. They thought we were doing that anyway. They wouldn't believe they're the reason we actually are. They're crazy."

"We should have hired lawyers from Jeff's firm to handle our business. Imagine his face."

She and Rix had hired a lawyer to draw up contracts for the place they were buying together. That turned into a huge legal ordeal when the guy insisted on making adjustments to the agreement. According to him, these things could be tricky for people with means. They'd spent half the day on the phone, and tomorrow threatened to be more of the same. The plus was, they'd seemingly found a place they liked.

"Knowing him he'd pretend like we split amicably and try and handle the case himself."

Rix brought the TV back to life and started the show. "Let's not have the awkward conversation and just do it. Moving forward it's me and you. No back and forth. We go from this, to Netflix and Chill, no looking back."

Kim felt butterflies in her stomach. Dr. Charles' words echoed through her head again. What are you afraid of? Really?

Losing him. She had always known. She didn't want to lose him. She would do anything for him. Any threat to that was terrifying. She had been so afraid of upsetting the apple cart that he'd almost died without her ever admitting to herself how she felt. No more.

She turned to him, leaned into him, careful of his bruised ribs, and kissed him. Really kissed him. When she finally pulled away her head was spinning.

"Talk about what," she asked?

He smiled. "Absolutely nothing."

* * *

"How was it," Mandy asked. She'd been eager for details when Erin told her the unit was inviting her along for their monthly unit breakfast. When Voight mentioned the monthly get together, Erin hadn't expected to be included, but Hailey invited her personally and even though she didn't want to be anywhere near Upton, she couldn't turn her down. It was important to make nice, especially if Hailey was making an effort to be nice. Hailey wasn't a fan hers, but Voight reminded her that family doesn't always get along and being an ex-member of Intelligence made her family regardless of how Hailey felt about her personally. For that reason alone, Hailey would always make an effort to include her, like her or not.

"Honestly, I expected it to suck, but it was annoyingly fun. I had a great time. In fact, I'm sad I haven't always been around for it." Erin expected to hate it, but she hadn't. She'd loved it, swapping stories. Catching up. Getting to know the new guys. She had a blast.

"How are THEY? Haven't driven a wedge between them yet by driving her insane?" Most people would have discouraged Erin's sneaky behavior, but Mandy wasn't most people. Mandy was a kindred spirit. According to Mandy, in the model world women did this sort of thing to each other all the time. She'd done it on several occasions, she'd even stolen her football star husband from a friend this way.

"No. She's annoyed. But not crazy yet. When the three of us had lunch together, I managed to get her pretty pissed off and annoyed, but Jay threw me off. I ended up saying that nonsense about twelve steps, you were right, it worked like a charm, but it totally killed my mojo."

Mandy laughed. "I told you it would. Every time I want to drive someone nuts, I pull that stunt. Then when they got mad at me, I started talking about twelve steps and my recovery, they can't get angry anymore after that."

Erin hadn't been sure about this plan. When Kim came to New York and broke the news that Hailey and Jay bought a place together she was sure she lost him forever. Desperate, she suggested possibly hooking up with Rixton to make Jay jealous. Kim got her panties in a bunch about that though. Erin was sure Rixton was a great place to lay low while she figured out how to drag Jay away from Upton. Rixton was nice, handsome, and would probably make a halfway decent boyfriend if she weren't in love with another guy. He was a safe choice.

The very suggestion of that drove Kim nuts. She went into a whole thing about it not being okay to use people for her own selfish reasons and insisted Rixton was not there merely for her own personal amusement. It turned into a huge thing and they'd had a huge fight about it. When Erin suggested Kim sleep with him first, Kim only got angrier. It wasn't until Erin saw them together that she understood why that was. Kim was in love with the guy. Madly in love with him. So in love with him that the very thought of Erin using him had set Kim off. The rest of the trip was ruined.

Erin had heard the rumors about them but today had verified the truth. She loved the guy, and from the looks of him, he loved her back. She was so in love with him that she was practically cutting his pancakes for him. She refused the nurse the PD was going to hire to look after him and was taking care of him herself. She was even showering with the guy if the rumors were true. Erin had been curious about Kim giving her the cold shoulder since she'd been home, and now she understood why. She'd spoken at length about using the man she loved to make some other guy jealous, and made it perfectly clear his feelings meant nothing to her. That would be hard to fix.

"Burgess and Rixton are a thing," Erin said hoping to change the subject.

Mandy wasn't surprised. "Yeah, I figured that. The way your friends talk about them, it's always as THEY. And she apparently went nuts when he ended up in the emergency room. Took down a huge security guard like nothing. The agents who went to the hospital to talk to Jay saw the security video. They said it was kind of awesome. You don't do something like that for some meaningless guy."

"Yeah," Erin said with surprise? She hadn't heard about that.

"Yeah, and Jay worked that silver tongue of his," Mandy started to say.

"Hey," Erin said sharply. "Girl code. I told you that in confidence. If he finds out I've been sharing sex details, I'll never get another shot. They're crazy tight lipped here. They even tossed a guy out of the unit for gossiping about Kim and Kenny."

Mandy sighed. "That's not what I meant about silver tongue Ms. Sensitivity. I meant he talked that security guard into letting the whole thing go. The guy has a niece who wants into the PD. The girl is a lawyer, went to Loyola. He agreed to push her application to the top of the pile, which given her resume, probably would have happened anyway. Then he said IF she makes it through everything without his help, he'll see that she lands okay. He didn't actually do anything for the guy, but the guy was stoked anyway. I guess it was pretty impressive. And between you and me, the agents on scene got her info and HR is going to try and poach her."

Erin wasn't surprised to hear that. Jay was likeable and had a knack for getting people on his side.

"He's good at that," Erin admitted.

"That's not the only thing I hear he's good at," Mandy teased. "Now THAT'S sexual innuendo."

Erin laughed. "You're a terrible influence."

"So, what's next in plan drive her crazy and split them up?" Mandy was all about the plan. She listened to the details, helped with strategy, and offered up tons of useful ideas. But even she couldn't make two people fall out of love. Sure, stealing a guy was easier when you looked like Mandy Sanderson, but Erin didn't have her genetic gifts, and Jay and Hailey seemed madly in love.

"I don't know. They seem happy together. I'm actually thinking I should probably just leave them alone."

Mandy smirked. "Do you want to be alone, or do you want to get the guy?"

Erin sighed. "I want to get the guy."

Mandy nodded her approval. "Good. Now it may take a while. We didn't expect it to fall apart over night, but just be there, be available. Eventually you'll get your chance and when you do, make the most of it."

"Thanks for having my back partner," Erin said as she gave Mandy a hug.

"Anytime partner. Anytime."

* * *

Family day was always a huge chore, but everyone seemed to love it so Hailey couldn't just do away with it. Everyone always showed up for it, even Voight, and even HE managed to have a good time. She'd seen him smile more during those group breakfast dates than the entire time she worked for him. Family day had been a bit of a joke, a way to bring the group together in a way that was sure to annoy everyone. Ironically, the only one it annoyed was her.

"Erin had a good time," she said to Jay who was twenty minutes into a ballgame. He'd come home, done a few household chores and when he was absolutely sure she was satisfied with his work he sat himself down in front of the TV. He was already engrossed, but when she spoke to him, he looked in her direction, looked her in the eyes and answered.

"Yeah, she seemed to like it. It was nice of you to invite her." He'd argued against it. He was worried about the drama. If Erin was going to ruin it, he'd just as soon exclude her. Everyone loved family day, and Jay didn't want anything creating drama where there shouldn't be. Lucky for him, all parties behaved themselves. That was mostly because Hailey had stayed as far away from her as possible.

"Yeah. She's making an effort. Twelve steps and all." Hailey had been annoyed by Erin's dramatic proclamations during lunch. She'd basically accepted responsibility for everything that had gone wrong in her entire life, making it impossible to be mad at her. Hailey was still convinced she was up to something but unfortunately, she was on her best behavior. Any outrage on Hailey's part would only serve to make her look like a crazy person.

"Yeah, she even mentioned some guy she's going out with."

Hailey fought the urge to roll her eyes. Now she had an imaginary boyfriend? What a lunatic. "Good for her. She deserves to find someone nice." Preferably far away from Chicago.

Jay turned his attention back towards the TV. "She said we should have dinner together. That seems a bit much. I said I'd have to check with you."

Great. Leave it up to her. "If you want to go, we can go."

"I don't want to go," he said. "We're good me and her, but we aren't THAT good. I don't want to give her the wrong idea by spending too much time together. That's not smart given our history."

Hailey fought back the urge to run and give him a hug. He was great sometimes. Always knew the right thing to say.

"That makes sense. I'm a good girlfriend, but I'm not THAT good of a girlfriend. Spending time with your ex isn't my idea of fun." She hated it to be honest. But being a grownup meant being mature. But she wasn't stupid enough to look a gift horse in the mouth. If he wanted to keep a healthy distance, she was okay with that.

He looked at her, smiled and offered a wink. "You're great. Perfect even."

"Alright, keep it up over there and you're gonna miss the rest of your game."

He laughed. "We can just keep it on in the background. I won't miss anything"

She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "And just like that, I'm over it. Sorry."

Jay groaned mockingly and she went back to the bedroom and continued looking through her notes on the house. She'd finished the living room with IKEA furniture, and the kitchen was coming together nicely. Now she needed to figure out the bedroom. It wasn't exactly how she wanted to spend her day, but there were worse things she could be doing.

* * *

"Burgess," the voice said giving her a shake. Kim's eyes opened slow and when she saw Erin staring her in the face she sighed with frustration. Rix was still beside her asleep and Kim instinctually checked his body to see if he were breathing, comfortable that she could see his chest moving, she finally turned her attention to Erin.

"What, man. I'm sleeping Erin."

Lindsay nodded, but didn't back down. In fact she doubled down. She pushed the blankets off her and grabbed her arm. "Get up, put on some pants and take a ride with me."

She looked over at Rix and shook her head. "No, I'm not going to leave him alone."

Instead of arguing Erin grabbed her gently by the chin and turned her face back towards her. "Burgess, it'll be fine. He'll be fine. Just a few minutes so we can talk. I'll have you right back here."

Kim dragged herself out of bed and stood up, stretching her arms over her head and yawning. She wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep. She laid down to watch Netflix with Rix, made it through an entire episode of a murder mystery, and woke up hours later to Erin staring her in the face. The TV across the room had stopped and was asking 'Are you still Watching', a message every binge watcher was familiar with. She chuckled to herself, forcing herself not to say no out loud.

She wasn't sure what Erin wanted but she knew the quicker she dealt with it, the quicker she could get back in bed. She walked over to the pants she'd stepped out of earlier and pulled them on. She gave the room a glance for her shirt, found it nearby and pulled it off the floor.

"What's this about Erin?" Kim asked. She'd been doing a great job of avoiding Lindsay since she'd come back to Chicago, but Erin just kept calling. Kim decided over New Years that Erin wasn't the sort of 'friend' she needed in her life. She was sneaky, and selfish, and didn't take people's feelings into account. That was drama she didn't need anymore. Life without Erin would be a lot more stable.

"We can talk in the car. Just a quick drive. We'll let Rixton sleep. I'll have you back before he even wakes up."

Kim doubted that. He woke up quite a bit during the night. His pain was annoyingly persistent. On an average night he'd wake up five times. If he turned the wrong way, breathed too heavy, felt too much pain, the sharp pain would snap him awake. Most of the time she woke with him, hearing his moans and groans, watching him silently. Hearing Erin disregard all that annoyed her. What the hell did she know about it?

She pulled on her shirt, then her shoes and snatched her phone off the nightstand. She typed a quick text, hit send, then looked at Erin with expectation. "Okay. Let's go." On the nightstand near Rix's head, his cellphone chirped.

"I told you it wouldn't take long," Erin said almost offended.

Kim nodded. "I want him to know where I am. He's had enough excitement these past few weeks. The last thing I need is him getting all worked up because I didn't take five seconds to send a text."

Erin looked as if she wanted to argue but seemed to reconsider. Instead she looked at the still sleeping Rix and stared. Kim watched her, letting her stare for a moment before her stomach started to turn.

"Hey, can we go," she said feeling a little annoyed.

Erin nodded and quickly turned on her heels and left the room. Kim noticed she was still sporting the blonde hair, and as she walked down the stairs, she slipped her large shades back over her eyes. She didn't look like Erin anymore, but Kim knew better, looks could be deceiving. She followed her down the stairs, passed the two cops sitting on the sofa watching TV. Usually she'd bitch at them for letting someone upstairs without giving her a heads up, but Erin was a member of Intelligence, at least she had been, and she was FBI. Her badge opened every door in the city. Instead of bitching at them, Kim gave them a glare. They both nervously looked away and she knew she'd gotten her point across.

"He's still asleep," she said as she walked out the front door behind Erin, "I'll be back pretty soon." She pushed the door shut as she stepped out and breathed in a large breath of Chicago air. Erin walked silently to a waiting black Ford Taurus and climbed in the driver's seat. Kim slipped into the passenger seat shut the door and looked at Erin expectantly. Erin brought the car to life and pulled down the block at a crawl. They made it nearly two blocks before she spoke.

"Kim, I'm sorry about that crap that went down over New Years. I was upset about Jay and Hailey and I freaked out a little." She maneuvered the car down the streets with ease, not too slow as to draw attention to them, but not so fast to give the impression they had someplace to be. She was just cruising.

"It's fine," Kim said quickly. She didn't want to talk about New Years. She'd done her best not to even think about it. The way Erin casually talked about using Rix to make Jay jealous. Using him like he was some prop in a play she were writing. Getting him to fall in love with her, think about the future with her, then casually throwing him away like every other woman he'd loved in his life. The casualness of it enraged her. It didn't even seem to matter to her. HE didn't seem to matter to her. It was almost as if he weren't even a real person in her mind, just a means to an end.

"No, it's not fine. I know how what I did made you feel. Like I didn't give a shit about anyone but myself. And I know that it hurt you. Hearing what I was talking about doing to Rixton, it hurt you. Talking like his feelings don't matter. Like his heart was just there for me to break." She kept driving slowly, not looking away from the road. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Even if you weren't in love with him it would have been a shitty thing to do."

Kim looked at Erin, intent to deny it, but decided Erin didn't deserve an explanation. Nobody deserved an explanation. Her relationship with Rix was nobody's business. "It's fine."

Erin sighed. "Look Kim. I know that shit that happened changed things between us. I get it, hell I deserve it. But you have to know, I would have never actually gone through with it. Rix is a great guy, a forever type of guy. And I wouldn't break that sweetness in him just to make some other guy jealous."

"Could have fooled me," Kim finally said. Erin was talking a good game, but she didn't look like she was full of shit back in New York. Kim had heard a lot of people tell a lot of lies, and Erin was one hundred percent serious. She would have done exactly what she said she would, without question.

Erin nodded. "You're right. I was hurt. Really fucking hurt. I still am. Do you know how much it hurts to see the man I love living our life with some other woman? It fucking sucks Kim. I made one stupid mistake and he's just gone forever. And I'm not supposed to fight for him? I'm just supposed to let her win, let her have him? I know what I said was fucked up, but I was just in pain. That's all it was, pain. I would never, WILL NEVER, touch what is yours."

Kim wanted to argue, but she understood. Someplace deep down she liked to think she was better than that. That she wouldn't do absolutely anything to get what she wanted. But these past few weeks had taught her that life wasn't fair. The world would chew you up and spit you out and nobody would give a shit. If you wanted something it was up to you to go get it. If you didn't nobody would care. Nobody in the entire world.

"Where are we going," She finally asked. "Just driving around, having a conversation we could have had back at the house?" Kim had been watching the houses, home after home, street after street. Families, lives, love and happiness. She wasn't typically the sentimental type, well not anymore, but seeing the houses, the lives being lived, made her think about the place she and Rix wanted to buy. The life they wanted to build.

"It's okay, we're here," she said. Erin pulled the car into one of those long term storage facilities. She punched a code on a keypad and watched a steel gate open slowly letting them inside. It closed just as slowly behind them and Erin pulled the car through the complex at a crawl.

"What's this?"

Erin pulled the car to a stop in front of a large storage unit, killed the engine, and pulled a key out of her pocket. "Kim, I know you lost everything behind this. And I can't undo that. Hailey has been hounding the FBI about making that right with you. The FBI has been resistant. They say the money you're getting more than compensates you for the stuff you lost." She walked to the unit unlocked it and opened it, revealing a unit full of furniture all still wrapped in plastic. "This isn't YOUR stuff, not the stuff you lost. But it belongs to you now. It was taken in a raid from some drug dealer's house in Florida. It's all brand new. Sofas, beds, TV's. Everything to fill an entire house. The dealer had it delivered the day he got arrested and it went from the delivery truck to the Marshal truck. It's supposed to be top of the line. Boca do Lobo. I never heard of it, but I looked it up online and it's supposed to be high quality."

She looked at Erin with skepticism. "And the FBI is just giving it to me?"

"Not them, the Marshals. They handle all assets seized by the government. Typically they auction it off but occasionally they take stuff off the top for undercover operations. That's what they were going to do with this stuff. I was able to talk them into letting you have it though. To make up for their role in the Rixton thing. Sell it, use it, whatever you want. It's yours." She placed the key in Kim's hand and gave her shoulder a pat. "Enjoy it."

Unsure of what to say Kim said the only thing that came to mind. "Thank you."

Erin nodded. "Rixton's going to be jealous. Your furniture is worth more than most people's entire house."

He wouldn't be jealous, there was no need. It would invariably be their furniture. What was hers was his. Erin didn't know that though. Nobody knew that, and it wasn't any of their business. She nodded an okay and closed the unit, relocking it and checking the lock.

"This'll come in handy," she said doing her best to sound diplomatic. It was a kind gesture on her part, and she'd seemed to go through some trouble. But Kim couldn't pretend it made up for them getting her stuff lost. She'd lost things that had been in her family for years. Things a thief would simply throw away. Of course none of this was Erin's fault though. "Rix still has his stuff."

Erin walked back to the car. "Think you can find this place again? I paid it up for two months. That should be more than enough time for you to find a place, and if not, you can come pay another month or so. It's in your name."

"I'll get the info on the way out. Thanks for this Erin. It eases my mind a bit, knowing I don't have to buy an entire new life. Rix and I have been doing all our shopping online. He's not getting around too good yet and I don't like leaving him alone that long." Last time he insisted he was fine, he'd almost died. Even though that wasn't a worry anymore, she wasn't taking any more chances until he was himself again.

"You guys are pretty close then?" Erin asked.

Kim shrugged, not giving her anything. She wasn't going to give any of them anything. Not ever.

"It's okay not to tell me. But something's definitely there. I can see it. Everyone can see it. I won't get in your business. But what I will say is don't do what I did. Waste time screwing around, playing cat and mouse. Running away. If you love that guy, then love that guy. Be all in Kim. Because if you're not, some woman will show up and see how great he is, and suddenly you're me. Watching the guy you're supposed to be spending your life with living that life with another woman. Like I said, that sucks."

Kim offered her a polite nod. It was a nice thing to say, something a friend would say. Even though Kim didn't answer, wouldn't answer, it was the sort of thing the old Erin would have done. The Erin that was her friend. The Erin that cared about her, not just about her but about other people's feelings.

"Don't worry about me. I've got it under control." Enough of that nosy bullshit, she thought. "What about you? I know you just got back into town, are you seeing anyone?"

Erin shrugged nervously. "Yeah, but it's new. We'll see."

Something about the way she said it made Kim skeptical. Erin was head over heels in love with Jay. So much so that years after they'd broken up, she was still fishing for information about him and getting crazy jealous when she found out he'd bought a place with another woman. That crazy bitch didn't just move to Chicago and start seeing him again then just decide to find a new guy. No way. Erin was likely up to something. Trying a new strategy in mission 'win Jay back." Still, unit rule was to mind your own damn business, and that was exactly what she was going to do.

"Well good luck with it. I'm sure he's great."

"Thank you," she said while climbing back into the car. "Come on, I'll get you back before he wakes up."

That made something in Kim's belly swirl. She wanted to get back to the house, climb into bed, and pretend to watch TV until she fell asleep. The only thing better than that would have been cuddling, but Rix's broken ribs made that impossible. All things considered though, this hadn't been a terrible getaway. For a brief moment she had her friend Erin back.

"Hey," she said as she climbed back into the passenger seat. "I'm sorry I've been MIA. It's just that stuff in New York. It got under my skin." She reached over and gave Erin's leg a pat. "I'll do better about keeping in touch."

Erin smiled. "Cool. I'll try not to be a nuisance, and no more talk about Kenny." Kim liked the sound of that.

* * *

Jay's life was exactly how he wanted it. Well, almost. A beautiful place, a wonderful house, a woman he loved. This was exactly the sort of life he wanted to live, happy, quiet, full of love and peace. Hailey was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She'd come into his life when he'd needed someone and been a friend. She hadn't pried, or been pushy, she'd just been there. Then when he needed saving from himself, she pulled him out of the depths of despair. She'd even leaned on a witness to save his career. He didn't just love her, he owed her everything.

He dug the little box out of his pocket and spun it awkwardly in his hand. He'd tried this once and the woman took off for New York without so much as a goodbye. He'd been wanting to do this for ages, but the fear in the pit of his stomach always crept to the surface forcing him to abandon the plan. He was afraid, had been afraid. Rejection was a bitch. If Hailey ran off the way Erin had, he wasn't sure he would survive it.

Having a family meant pushing past your insecurities and doing the brave thing. He'd been putting this on the backburner for a long time but today he was putting the past behind him. Today he was starting over, starting fresh, and if she said yes, starting a new chapter in his life.

His phone chirped with a text message and he sat nervously at the table and checked the message. **On my way home, you hungry, I can stop for some take out?**

He'd planned this for a week, dinner was waiting on the table, he had an expensive bottle of wine, now all he needed was for her to come home. That had been the thing he'd worried about most.

**I took care of dinner. Just come on home. I'll be waiting.**

She text back right away. **Well I'm on the way. Five minutes.**

He sat quietly at the table and waited for her to come home. It felt like an hour and in the back of his mind he expected her not to show up. Erin hadn't shown up. She'd packed up and gone to New York, breaking his heart into a thousand pieces as she went. That had nearly destroyed him. Broken him up and nearly wrecked his life. That was a horrible day and in the back of his mind he expected today to be just as horrible.

But the key hit the lock and she stepped inside. He'd considered getting dressed up, but she wasn't dressed up and he didn't want her to be at all self-conscious about tonight. She looked at him, then looked around the room, and finally cracked a slight smile.

"What's up Jay?"

* * *

It was a short escrow. But those sorts of things were possible when you had lots of money. If the home was up to par and money wasn't an issue, why wait 30 days for the sale? Kim hadn't expected things to move so fast, but ten days still seemed like forever. The sellers wanted quite a bit of money for the Gold Coast condo, but they'd taken a significant amount less for an all cash offer. Rumor had it they were in financial trouble and facing a huge tax fine that needed to be settled quickly with the IRS. The real estate agent had wanted to gouge them even more, but Rix didn't feel good about that. He wasn't going to advance himself on someone else's misfortune.

Kim didn't care one way or the other, but she was okay with Rix's plan. The last thing she needed was to make an enemy. Not to mention the former tenants surely had friends in the building and if Kim and Rix took advantage, they'd have a horrible time assimilating into their new lives. Rix liked peace and quiet at home, no drama. If they came into the building having made enemies that was never going to happen.

Move in day was peaceful when you didn't do the work. Large guys with large trucks moved things in, put things where she wanted and disappeared just as fast. Things were done professionally, quietly, and in less than an hour. Even though she'd been told it wasn't necessary Kim tipped the men generously on their way out the door. Her last moving day having gone so horribly she was more than happy to see this one dull and uneventful.

"Now what," Rix said sitting on the sofa? He was moving much better now, the pain more of a dull ache these days. He wasn't up to moving sofa's around, but last night, their last night in the safe house, he cuddled up to her in the middle of the night. She woke up this morning with him spooning her and figured it was the perfect way to start a new life.

"Now you hook up the TVs, I'll unpack some of the boxes and we figure out what else we need to make this place a home." That had been the topic of conversation the past few days, what they needed to buy. With the furniture Erin gave them all the essential were taken care of. At least beside the major appliances, which Rix ordered online. They'd been delivered early, even before she and Rix had arrived with the truck. The building maintenance had seen the Fridge and stove delivered and had personally installed them. Beside that stuff, he had pots and pans, practically brand new since he never cooked. Dishes, cheap sets he'd bought from Target, but more than enough for them to get by. His mother had given him towels and linens, lots of towels and linens, insisting no woman wanted to use the old cheap ones he'd kept in his apartment. Kim agreed, but assumed Vivian was just being a mom and would have found a reason to buy him new stuff regardless of the state of his old stuff.

"I can hang some clothes, put away some linen. TV can wait." He was being stubborn again.

"Of course you can. But if you do that first, when you're tired of hanging clothes and putting away linens you can sit down and watch TV and be done for the night. If you do it your way when you get tired you still have more work to do."

He relented quickly, seeing the wisdom in her words and nodded. "Ok, looks like I'm on TV duty. Den and bedroom," he stated rather than asked. The condo had four bedrooms but when they discussed moving day, they'd agreed to only having a TV in one. The fact that they were going to continue sharing a bedroom wasn't discussed, they didn't talk about those sorts of things. Rix's old bedroom set was placed in the second master suite, the condo had initially been two separate units, but the old owners had combined them into one large home. As a result, there were twice as many of everything. Four bedrooms, two of them master suites, six bathrooms, two large dens, and three doors, one main and two fire exits.

"I'll start putting stuff away." She looked around their new home and laughed. "God this place is huge. I didn't anticipate it being so large. Can you imagine if they hadn't torn out the other kitchen?" The previous owners had spared no expense when they moved in, which is probably why they were in so much trouble with the IRS. To their credit though, there was almost nothing she and Rix had to do. The place even had a safe for their guns. Rix had called a guy to come and change the combination, but that wouldn't happen until later in the week.

"I told you it takes up half the floor. It's us and two other families across the hall. The lawyers and the hedge fund guy and his wife." Their neighbors had been the topic of much conversation. Technically, in the eyes of the public, she and Rix were still suspected dirty cops. Moving into an expensive building like this wasn't doing much for their reputations. The lawyers, a gay couple one a litigator the other a tax attorney, would surely know who they were. The Hedge fund guy probably not. Rix thought being honest was the right move. Kim thought not saying anything and letting them find out on their own made more sense.

That was her plan with most things these days. Eventually the word would spread that she and Rix were living together, but she wasn't in a rush to let people know about it. Telling people would ruin things. She was much happier letting things play out on their own.

That was the route she and Rix were taking these days. There were no weird conversations. They had always been on the same wavelength and the developing situation between them was no different. One night a few weeks back she'd kissed him, and afterwards it had just become a thing they were doing. Kissing grew to some careful making out, and eventually to some more graphic fun. With Rix feeling better, she wanted him to take it easy today because making love for the first time was a perfect way to christen their new home. She hadn't told him that yet, but she was pretty sure he was hoping the same thing. Not having a plan was suddenly their plan.

She looked around. "I know, it seemed smaller empty. Now that we've moved in our stuff, it seems like it's too big."

He waved the comment off. "Ignore that. This is our home Burgess. We have time to fill it with stuff."

She smiled. "Yeah, you're right. We have all the time in the world."

**A/N: I figured I'd end this story here because with everyone happy, except Erin, it seems a natural place. Yes Jay is proposing to Hailey but I didn't show that because I think I may do something later with it. I need to wrap Erin up in a healthy way too. And I like the idea of Kim and Kenny moving forward but never actually deciding that they would. I like that they're just jumping in feet first. So maybe one more story in this trilogy. Although it will take some time because I've got a few things starting in my life. So wish me luck and thanks again for your support.**


End file.
